Elf Dawned Book 2: By Fate
by BloomAmber
Summary: She came once, sucked under the spell of Endymion's eyes. She left, forgetting everything. Now she's back, learning it all over again... but this time, she's running for her life from the beginning.
1. Prologue

**A/N: **_Here's the PROLOGUE! :p I wont be updating fast, though... still! :p Enjoy first chapter!  
_

**Disclaimer: **_All rights are reserved to Naoko. I do not own Sailor Moon, but the story is all my creation._

**Summery: **_She came once, sucked under the spell of Endymion's eyes. She left, forgetting everything. Now she's back, learning it all over again... but this time, she's running for her life from the beginning._**  
**

* * *

**_Elf Dawned Book 1: By Chance..._**

_**Prologue**_**_:_**

He watched her like he always watched her nowadays. A delicate little thing, slowly growing up into a fine woman. He respected her. Loved her, even...

Her golden hair, impossibly long, was silver in the moonlight. Her pale face was cast in dramatic shadows; her lips puckered in terror.

She was _the_ goddess of shadows. Underneath that delicacy, a ranging storm. Always like that. Always.

The nightmares seemed to haunt her more frequently now. Five nights in a row he had seen her clutch her blankets in a death grip. After three years, it seemed unlikely the dreams were about him. He knew for certain now.

She would never remember.

To her, he would forever be a stranger, long gone. Like a boring uncle a five-year-old met once, but never again, and was shown a picture of twenty years later. Filtered away in a brain too young to pay attention.

Of course, she would still remember him if it weren't for him.

Shaking his head, he took three steps across the room, standing in front of her. Gently, he reached out and touched her tense face, ready to disappear if she stirred.

She didn't.

His hand shook as he moved some stray strands of hair off her face. What he wouldn't do to feel her press up against him again. He missed the feel of her heart, beating along to his. The soundtrack to his love for her – gone.

What he really missed were her eyes. Cerulean eyes that would gleam up at him trustingly, even that last time, after he betrayed her. She could have asked for anyone's help.

She asked for his.

It didn't matter now, though. She wouldn't fit into his world anymore. Wouldn't know her way.

No one would trust her readily, though, even with his approval, so it didn't matter. She was a walking reminder of a failed rebellion. A reminder no one needed, even now.

He leaned down until his lips were close to hers – so close, he could almost feel them. One tiny jerk, and they would be touching.

Then, his vision was swimming in a pool of blue. Beautiful.

And then he was gone, three whispered words left behind for her to figure out...

* * *

The night was the time she dreaded. It was when the nightmares came – images of her parents, begging her to run.

Something was after her. Something great – powerful. Destructive.

She tried to run, she really did. But each time, her feet would stick to the floor, glued, and she would struggle, watching her parent's faces become contorted, monstrous. Watching them continue to beg, plead, for her to run.

And then, their faces would stretch and start glowing until they were yellow, a sight that made her pulse quicken and palms sweat. Her thrashing would get only worse, then, because she knew it was coming. _He_ was coming.

She yelled, she tore, she struggled to get free, but his voice haunted her anyway. It entered her ears; licked her soul; did terrible things to her insides.

"_I'm waiting."_

But he didn't say it like that. He prolonged the words, tasting them on his tongue like chocolate. It sent chills up her spine, and as she watched, her parent's faces would turn into a pair of eyes. Green eyes, glowing like a cat's.

"Please, what do you want from me?" she would beg.

She received the same answer each time.

_"You. Your blood. To see you scream for real – loudly, as if you'd never stop. My only wish."_

It would continue, then - her begging for him to stop, him enjoying her fear, tasting it, feeding hungrily on it. Then, at last, he would whisper in a voice that would haunt children anywhere. If the boogie man had a voice, it would be his.

_"Will you come willingly? Will you make my wish come true? Into reality? Will you die for me?"_

She would normally bolt straight up, stifling her hysterical screaming that awoke her Aunt Rose the first few times she had the dream. She had scolded her, told her she was being rude, probably waking everyone in the neighborhood.

The first few nights she couldn't stop screaming. He terrified her, made all the bones in her body shake. Her aunt's contradicting tone had at first calmed her. Then she threatened to get a therapist.

That was when she started to force her screams down her throat. The last thing she wanted was a shrink.

Today was different. When she woke up, she couldn't bolt up. Something was holding her down.

She was going to scream, scream loudly enough to wake Aunt Rose. It was him – he had come to get her! No! _Nononononononono!_

But then she saw his eyes. The color of the sky at night, almost black with desire. They weren't brown, she knew, but somehow, blue didn't seem right to describe them, either. Too simple. Too washed out. Not like his.

Her open mouth brushed his just barely, not like a kiss, just a mistake, and she pushed her head back against her pillows, the scream dying in her throat. Her body relaxed under his, which she realized in the back of her mind not to be the proper response, but waved away completely.

He didn't seem to notice her for a second, the exact time for her to see that his ear seemed off, somehow. Non-human.

Then, his eyes were on her, wide, and he disappeared.

But before he left, he spoke three words in a silky tone, soft as the wind – so soft, she wasn't sure she heard him right -, that made her body tense and cold all over.

_"He's found you..."_

**TBC**

**A/N: **_REVIEW! I know it's short, but I felt that it was good.:p Besides, it's just a prologue.:p Hope you enjoyed!_**  
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	2. Strange Happens

**A/N: **_Ok, chapter 1. :p I hope that eventually I'll begin to continue writing from where I left off. :p For now: School's tough.:p PLEASE ENJOY AND REVIEW!  
_

**Disclaimer: **_All rights are reserved to Naoko. I do not own Sailor Moon, but the story is all my creation._

**Summery: **_She came once, sucked under the spell of Endymion's eyes. She left, forgetting everything. Now she's back, learning it all over again... but this time, she's running for her life from the beginning._**  
**

* * *

**_Elf Dawned Book 1: By Chance..._**

_**Chapter 1**_**_:_**

_"Run... Baby, run!"_

_ My mom's face, pale and frightened, loomed over me, begging me to go._

_ "Mom!"_

_ "RUN!"_

_ "What's going on?" I begged. She looked around, her hands shaking. Her bronze dress, the last thing I saw on her before the car accident, swished as she looked around, frightened. The long pink and blue petals that were sewn into the bottom of her dress were ripped and muddied. Her curly auburn hair, once shining with life and bouncing with the sway of her head, lifelessly fell out of her scalp. _

_ A knocking sound echoed into the darkness as her skin began to peel and she cried out in pain. "RUN!"_

_ I screamed. _

Bolting up in bed, I looked around my room. The knocking on my door annoyed me, so I mumbled for my aunt to enter.

Aunt Rose, a very upright woman, also my dad's sister, who had taken me in after my parent's car accident at age eleven, entered the room. Her eyes inspected me from under the big hat she was wearing.

I sighed. "I know, I know. I will be ready in just a moment."

She nodded, then turned to leave. Before she did, though, she mumbled something under her breath. Then she shut the door, leaving me alone.

It sounded a lot like, "happy birthday."

Today, I turned sixteen. I chewed on the inside of my cheek, a habit I had recently formed, and got up from under the covers. I hadn't forgotten the dream yet. I just chose to ignore it for the moment.

I went through my regular routine in getting ready. I hit the shower, then dressed in a tight courset-like dress that clung to my curves. Today I wore the brown one that I usually avoided wearing. Not as much as the apricot dress, though. That one was in the back of my closet. I doubted it fit me anymore, either.

Then, when I finally got it on in a few exhausting minutes, I walked into my closet and picked out the brown velvet dress that I put on. It was bought yesterday by my aunt, who told me that I should wear it today. So I did.

I took out my favorite mineral cream, which both unclogged my pores and refreshed my skin, and rubbed it on my face, neck, and shoulders. Then I grabbed my brush and bent down, trying to untangle my unnaturally long blond hair. Before I was even done, my aunt entered my room and tut-tutted. She walked over to me and grabbed the brush, and I sighed and willingly sat down before my mirror.

She began to untangle my hair. "Honestly, Serenity, you'll ruin your hair if you keep tearing at it like that."

"Yes, Aunt Rose."

She smiled and began to hum a melody I recognized. I listened, enjoying the sound.

"Do you remember that song, Serenity?" she asked tentatively.

I pursed my lips, straining to remember. "No, not really."

She laughed. "I'm surprised, considering that you were the one to write it."

I raised my eyebrows. "Me? Write it?"

She nodded. "When you were thirteen. Quite a song, actually. '_Once upon a time, I say,_ _there were two soul mates that could never ever be apart. Oh so far away! I say. Oh so far away! I say. There was a prophesy that would never ever be fulfilled. One that said 'Hardship'; one that said 'Agony'; but ignoring was the key, for we were always, always meant to be'._"

I wrinkled my nose. "That sounds awful."

She grinned. "Well, you were only thirteen. However I do like the song... it is very... well... _you_."

I sighed. "Aunt Rose?"

"Hmm..?"

"I had a dream today about mom."

"Is that so?" she asked, her good mood gone.

Aunt Rose had taken the car crash my parents were in a lot harder that I had. She still wasn't over it, but, then again, she was close to them both. Probably much closer to them than I was.

"She was telling me to run."

Aunt Rose stiffened behind me, and I raised my regularly-plucked eyebrow. After a few minutes, she continued to brush my hair, but the stiffness in her shoulders didn't go away.

"Serenity, I know that what happened to your parents was hard for you to deal with, but you have to move on. It has been five years. Besides, it's a dream. Nothing could come of it. Today is your birthday, and letting stupid things like a dream ruin your good mood is just... silly."

I nodded, and dropped the subject.

When Aunt Rose was done with my hair, she set the brush down and left the room.

I continued to stare at myself in the mirror, not really seeing my reflection. Then I got up, grabbing a hat from a nearby chair on my way out.

My party was definitely lifeless. And when I say lifeless, my definition is: a tea party with finger sandwiches (none of which I was allowed to touch...) and fruit laid out for old people to enjoy. A bunch of elders I don't even remember or know wishing me a happy birthday and introducing me to their "overly-excited to meet you, just the precious thing!" sons and grandsons (all of whom were a bore). Gifts layed out on the table, most likely with useless objects that some people might find interesting whilst I find boring, and, let us not forget the music... classic violins and piano solos don't exactly give the whole 'party-up' beat I would trade it in for.

Let's just say that two hours into it and my highlight so far was a chubby grandson of "Madam Supree, the novelist" lecturing me about the mating patterns of a porcupine in attempts to woe me, and the "exciting climax of releasing helium balloons into the sky!" (as quoted by my aunt) where we basically each got a balloon and... released it into the sky with an accompanying dramatic trumpet background music. Fun.

That's how I had found myself in a tree, wishing the day would be over already, and hiding from my excited bachelors who regularly, and eagerly, seek me out. I shudder just thinking about them...

"Some party you have yourself here."

I jumped, startled, as a blond about my age jumped from the branch above mine and sat down next to me. "I'm Andrew."

I groaned inwardly. They were everywhere!

"Oh... ah... hello. I hope you're having a good time tonight..."

He grinned. "I'm not from the party."

I pursed my lips. "Party crasher?"

"Not really."

I frowned. "Can't you be?"

The truth was, anything would be more exciting at the moment.

He laughed and winked at me. "Well, Endymion's orders were to keep an eye out... I don't think that includes crashing the party."

I wrinkled my nose. "Who's Endymion?"

Andrew smiled sadly at me, shaking his head. "A friend. A really good friend."

"Ah."

I could see my Aunt Rose now, talking to Porcupine Man, and shaking her head forlornly and shrugging. She happened to look up at that moment and spot me, and I shook my head, mouthing "please no!" to her in hopes that she could read my lips and not give me away. She gave me a quick disapproving look, but shook her head again at Porcupine Man. He sulked away, looking around.

I sighed. "Thank-you!"

Andrew grinned. "You know, most girls would give anything to be in your shoes. Sought out by many man from every... uh... house on the street."

I gave him a look. "I doubt it."

"Don't worry, Serena. You're safe up here."

I raised my eyebrow. "Serena?"

"A nickname for you."

I shook my head. "Besides that. How do you know my name?"

"Ah... you introduced yourself?"

I eyed him warily. He scratched his head and offered a slight smile. "No, I'm not sure that I did."

"I think that you did."

"No I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"No. I didn't. I would remember."

He shrugged innocently. "Must have heard it from one of your guests, then."

I eyed him suspiciously, but dropped the subject. The truth was that I didn't want to go back to the party, and even though Andrew did know my name without me having mentioned it, he seemed like an O.K guy to me. Fun loving, even.

"Anyway. Shouldn't you be out there?" Andrew asked, tilting his head towards my 'bash'.

"Please. Two hours is all I can take. Hey! What's that? Plastic ear?" I reached out, suddenly noticing the long, elf-like ear poking out from his messy blond hair. I tugged at the ear gently, but it wouldn't come of. He laughed.

"Hey, that tickles!"

I grinned and pulled it again. "What glue did you use? It's stuck on there pretty tight!"

He winked at me again, and shook his head. "You wouldn't know it. It's a secret mixture."

I leaned in closer to him, bumping him on the shoulder. "Come on... you can tell me. I can keep a secret... besides, it's my birthday!"

He shook his head again and laughed. "You wont believe me."

"Try me."

"Alright. These are real."

I shook my head. "You're right, I don't believe you."

He grinned. "It's true, though. They grew in after I ran away from home and found Elf City, begged the Queen to let me stay, had a special ceremony done and became Endymion's personal announcer."

I raised an eyebrow. "What are you, a novelist or something? You know, Madam Supree would love to meet you."

Andrew just cocked his head. "Trust me. I don't want to meet her. I am here for only one reason."

"And what's that?"

Andrew put a finger to his mouth. "It's a secret. But I sincerely hope that I wouldn't have to meet you again."

I frowned. "I'm not that bad, am I?"

Andrew, surprised, shook his head no. "It's not that. Just that under the circumstances such as this, it would be better."

"Yeah, yeah, the party's dull, I get it. I didn't plan it, though, for your information. My Aunt Rose did."

He smiled again, but his eyes wondered out into the sea of faces, searching each one. I watched him as his eyes parted from the crowd and trailed along the vast grass space onto the road and away. Then he seemed to snap out of it and was looking at me again.

"What were you watching?" I asked.

He pursed his lips and watched me carefully, as if considering whether to tell me or not. When he decided, he reclined against the branch and cracked his fingers, putting his hands behind his head to act as a pillow against the hard bark of the tree. "A bird. I'm a birdwatcher. I thought I saw a rare species of bird, but it turned out to be a... snake."

I raised an eyebrow, shaking my head. "A _snake_? How can you have mistaken a snake for a bird?"

He shrugged. "That particular bird that I was thinking of resembles a snake, but kills... scarier. The bird I'm thinking of satiates it's hunger by first catching it's prey in it's wings and keeping it in the dark and suffocating it. When the haunted is almost dead, it releases it's hold and carefully squeezes it's blood out. Then it pecks at it until it's hairs are all gone, and only when it's that vulnerable does the bird eat it."

I shuddered. "I didn't know there was such a bird species."

He grinned. "There isn't."

I frowned and looked at this blond boy. I hated to admit it, but even with his likable personality, at the moment he was frustrating me. And scaring me.

"Hey, relax!" he said, realizing somehow that he'd hit a nerve. "What I meant was that there isn't such a bird species. There was never supposed to be one. But there is something out there that kills like that."

I shook my head. The image of my mother's pale skin and falling hair flickered through my mind for a second, unnerving. "I don't believe you."

He shrugged. "Whether you do or don't, it doesn't really matter. But as I see it at the moment, you have two choices. Listen to your Aunt Rose tonight, and don't question her – or don't listen to her and... well... the rest you'll figure out on your own."

I scowled. "You know what, I don't even want to hear it! You keep changing the subject, and you tell me fake stories, and you try to scare me... and now you know my Aunt Rose's name and are telling me what I should or shouldn't do? Seriously? I'm out of here."

He flinched, but I was beyond feeling sympathy for him at that point.

I grabbed hold of the branch I was sitting on and moved towards the trunk, where he was leaning. Before I climbed over him and to the ground, though, I heard him mumble to himself, "Oh boy... still as stubborn as always. This is bound to be disastrous."

**TBC**

**A/N: **_REVIEW! Hope you liked it._**  
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	3. Kidnapped

**A/N: **_Thanks so much for the reviews! I'm glad this story is taking off as well as the first. Anyhow, I know_ **I'm starting late on the Halloween fic, but I will be doing one!**_ It will likely not be finished for Halloween, but fingers crossed that this will help me get into the groove and bounce back into this story! Anyhow, the other reason it's taking so long for elf dawned is that besides brainstorming, I realized that the first draft of the first couple of chapters was a bit... spunky and unrealistic. :p I'm trying to fix that... So tell me if it's alright... I did a bunch of tweaking in this chapter and I don't know if I can tweak it any more... I'll probably get back to it later, but right now I'm pretty happy with the way I've designed this chapter so... Enjoy!  
_

_**BY THE WAY!: **Just a thanks to unlockurdestiny for pointing out that it's ELF DAWNED BOOK 2, not 1 on the bottom there. :p My bad... So I'll fix the other two chapters eventually. :p Just bear with me until I do. ^^ Sometimes the copy/paste method does have its drawbacks! :p  
_

**Disclaimer: **_All rights are reserved to Naoko. I do not own Sailor Moon, but the story is all my creation._

**Summery: **_She came once, sucked under the spell of Endymion's eyes. She left, forgetting everything. Now she's back, learning it all over again... but this time, she's running for her life from the beginning._**  
**

* * *

**_Elf Dawned Book 2: By Chance..._**

_**Chapter 2**_**_:_**

When we got home, Aunt Rose set the gifts down in the big room and told me to open them. I was very confused, for she always told me to wait and get dressed into something fresh after a party before opening gifts.

I settled down and opened a few gifts. Five paintings that I found either gruesome or silly, three new dresses (two of them too large) and a knife set were part of the gifts. Then I came upon a small white box. I opened it and inside saw a star necklace that at the top had a glass case imprisoning a moon that floated on water.

Aunt Rose stiffened beside me and reached out for the box. She slipped her fingernail inside the folds that cushioned the necklace and took out a note. She quickly read it, and then ripped it up and set it inside her dress pocket.

I raised my eyebrow. Well... that was odd."What was that?"

"Instructions for the necklace. You're supposed to open the top right there and it will play music."

I was too tired to argue, or question her absurd behavior (or anything about today's events, for that matter) so I opened the lid and instantly a melody consumed me. It was a piano recording of the song Aunt Rose had been singing earlier... the one I had supposedly written.

"Uh... Aunt Rose-"

"I did send the song around, now that I think about it," she mumbled, averting her eyes to the side, something she's been doing a lot of lately. She only did that when she was lying.

"Aunt Rose. What's going on? Do you know the guy in the tree?"

She raised an eyebrow, looking both surprised and baffled. "The guy in the tree- what are you blabbering on about, Serenity?"

I sighed. "Never mind. It's just that I met someone today that... uh..." I paused. How could I possibly explain to my uptight aunt about Andrew and our conversation? It was way too weird, even for me. "Never mind," I said again.

"Alright then. Well, why don't you put that on and-"

Just then there was a knock on the door. Aunt Rose got up in a huff and walked to the door, swinging it open. "What do you want at this hour- oh! You're here... But why-?"

Then there was some hushed whispers.

Curious, I got up and walked around the corner, facing the door. There stood the most gorgeous boy I had ever seen.

He was tall, towering over my aunt by a few inches. He had broad shoulders and messy ebony hair that fell into his dark blue eyes, and brought with him the musky smell of mint leaves and chocolate. Looking at him now, I also got some sense of deja-vu.

Then he noticed me standing there, openly watching him, and nodded. I tilted my head in greeting, too, and he smiled a crooked smile. But then he was frowning again and said something to my aunt that I couldn't make out.

She shook her head and stepped away from him, then turned to me and smiled. "Serenity, this young man wishes to talk to you."

I gaped. "Me?"

"Yes, you. Now close your mouth before a fly flies in. Why don't you take him to the backyard?"

"Ah- the backyard?" I asked. In the back of my mind, I realized that I must sound like an idiot, repeating everything she was saying. But I couldn't help it. It's not every day that some handsome guy shows up at your door-step and wishes to speak to you... actually, it hasn't happened to me ever. Not once.

"Yes, now go. And take your cloak." I opened my mouth to protest, but she just shook her head. "It's getting chilly out there." Then she took a few steps over to me and hugged me. I froze, shocked.

This day was getting weirder and weirder.

When she finally let go, I stepped back and looked her over. She just shook her head again and whispered, "Go with the nice boy."

I nodded, feeling oddly that something of importance was going to happen in the backyard.

He came up to me and offered me his arm, which I took. His body heat penetrated through his jacket, and I found it kind of comforting.

With my other arm, I reached for my cloak. Then we went through our kitchen into the garden.

The air was fresh and smelt of roses – kind of like the stranger by my side. I inhaled the scent, savoring it. Nervous energy consumed me.

He smiled. "You like roses?"

I nodded. "I do. I started liking them when I was around thirteen, I think. Quite odd... I'd never noticed them before."

"How was your birthday so far, Serenity?"

I opened my mouth to ask how he knew my name, but then – he had come asking for me. Of course he would know my name... Ditto for how he knew my birthday.

"It was fine. Boring. I met the weirdest guy today."

"Who?"

"Some boy named Andrew, I think. Say, you know my name, however I don't know yours."

He nodded, and led me to the back of the garden. I followed, wondering why we were going to the messier part of it. As we came closer, goosebumps began to show up on my arms, and I began to feel a chill. I suppose I was grateful for once that my aunt was so strict. I wrapped the cloak tightly around my shoulders. "Did you like my gift?"

"Your – e-excuse me?" I said, slightly surprised at the abrupt change of subject.

"My gift. The necklace?"

"Oh, you mean this?" I fingered the golden locket.

"Yes. It was given to me when I turned sixteen."

"It was?"

"Yes. By a blond girl."

"But the song inside... Aunt Rose said I wrote it."

"You did."

"But then how did you..." I shook my head, unable to wrap my thoughts around the concept.

"Serenity, I've been waiting to meet you for quite some time."

"Sir... Ah... I didn't catch your name..." I said, flushing.

"I didn't give it."

"Oh."

There was an awkward silence that the man didn't seemed bothered by. I fumbled with my dress before finally looking up at him. "What _is_ your name, sir?"

"Endymion."

My eyes widened in momentary shock. I could hear Andrew's voice, saying, "_Well, Endymion's orders were to keep an eye out... I don't think that includes crashing the party_."

Before I could move, or even blink, his arms were around my waist, picking me up and flinging me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing. I struggled, kicking and biting and punching his back, but he just carried me even further into the garden. "Don't worry, Serenity. I won't harm you. Nothing will harm you as long as I'm with you."

I stopped fighting, realizing that it was useless, and instead started screaming. "HELP! HELP!"

Then we were moving through a particularly untamed growth in our garden that never seemed to be in order. For as long as I remember, I would avoid it, knowing that something bad was mingled with the roots of these plants. Now we were going through it, and I could feel the hair on my neck rising.

When I stopped feeling the prickling of branches and leaves and vines, we stopped and Endymion settled me down carefully on my feet. I stumbled away from him, and tripped and fell on my butt. He laughed.

I grunted but didn't say anything, momentarily fascinated by the fact that I was sitting on _sand_.

And there was a lot of sand. And in the middle of this huge circle of sand was a bonfire, not yet lit.

Endymion walked over to me and held out his hand. I didn't take it, but got up by myself and brushed off my skirts. "What are we doing here? Where _is_ here?"

He put his hand on the small of my back, somehow not noticing (or otherwise pointedly ignoring) the fact that I was inching away from him. "I will explain everything later. However, there are a few people who want to... meet you."

"Meet me?" The way he spoke, it was as if he was speaking to someone with amnesia. It made me mad and confused at the same time.

"Yes."

"I'm not going," I said stubbornly. He couldn't make me go anywhere! How dare he think he can?

He raised an eyebrow. "Well, why ever not?"

I put my hands on my hips and shook my head. "'Why ever not?' Well let's see: You just kidnapped me in my own backyard, somehow it's suddenly dark, and there is sand everywhere, and although it's completely illogical to think so, I'm pretty sure you had something to do with it! Not to mention your friend Andrew creeps me out, so naturally I don't trust someone like you."

His blinked his dark blue eyes that I found very familiar, then sighed. For a moment, I thought I saw something like... sorrow... in them.

But then again, I'm as good at reading eyes as I am reading someone's palm.

"Serenity, please don't make this difficult."

"I will so make this difficult! Now, I'm going back to my aunt. Good day, sir-"

Suddenly, he was holding my wrists in his hands, not tight enough to hurt me, but firm enough that I couldn't escape easily. My blood went cold with the familiarity of it. It reminded me of how the stranger with the green eyes in my dreams often grabbed me. _He_ reminded me of the stranger with the green eyes in my dreams who often grabbed me. "I'm afraid that that isn't going to be one of your options."

"Let go!" I gasped, trying to pull away. He held on tightly, an annoyed look on his face.

"Just hear me out –_oof_!" I had lifted my knee and connected with his groin. He doubled over, but still held on. I was about to kick his shins but he straightened up and pulled me over his shoulder again. I cried out in surprise, and he grunted. "Why do women always make things like this so tough?"

"Let me go! Put me down! I demand to be put down!"

"Serenity, please calm yourself. I said I wont hurt you-"

"Well _forgive me_ for not believing you! Now put me _down_!"

He grunted again, but began to walk forward. Then, suddenly, he set me down and settled on my knees. I leaned back, propping myself up with my elbows, trying to get as far away from him as I could. "What are you doing!"

"Listen, Serenity, I swear to you that I won't hurt you – but you have to work with me here!"

"I-"

"No! I'm not finished!"

I shut my mouth, staring at him wide-eyed.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. Then he focused his eyes on me, and visibly softened. "I never want to hurt you, Serenity. All I want is to help you." He put his hand on my cheek and ran his thumb down to my jawline. I shivered, and cursed myself for doing so. "You're in danger at the moment. Your parents got involved with someone very... uh... _unstable_ when they were alive. Your Aunt Rose went to me a year ago, asking me to help." He paused, and then leaned back, putting both his hands into his pockets and searching for something. Then, with his right hand, he took out an envelope and handed it to me. "Your aunt told me to give you this if you were being difficult. Good call, actually."

"What is it?" I asked cautiously.

He shrugged, which made him look kind of boy-ish. "I don't know. I didn't go through it. I do hope it doesn't say to stab me, though." He smiled weakly, and I realized that it was supposed to be a joke. A lame one, yes, but a joke. It did help me feel less threatened, but my guard wasn't going down anytime soon.

I took the envelope cautiously and held it in my fist, not bothering to open it. Endymion just sighed when he realized that I didn't intend to.

"So why did you have to kidnap me to bring me here if Aunt Rose asked you for help?" I asked.

"Well... you see, we didn't actually know when he was going to strike. He was able to watch you for a long time because of a... gift... that you possess. However, about three years ago when you were thirteen, something happened and... well..." he winced. I tilted my head. "Basically, he couldn't track you anymore because the glow that you gave off from the gift faded. You had agreed to get rid of it. It was partially my fault, partially Beryl's... and, of course, you didn't seem to like it to begin with. Anyhow, there was a slight problem when we tried to get rid of it. Amy – the person who did the surgery – had cut off only half of a worm that lives inside of you to give off that power and... well... it seemed to have been growing back it the last three years. And, as your glow got stronger, he was able to start tracking you again.

"When we cut off part of the power source, we had also erased some of your memories by mistake, which is why you can't remember me, Amy, Mina, Frost, Andrew... anyone at all, nor the events that took place, including the surgery. When you forgot, you also cut us out of your life, so we kept our distance. Your Aunt asked us to help when she realized that the guy who's after you was coming closer. I had been watching you personally, but sometimes I sent some of my friends to look out for you when I wasn't able to make it. Today, Andrew saw something, and he reported it to me. Because we don't know what it is yet, we have decided that it would be safer to have you here with us. Of course, it was mandatory to have you leave as soon as possible."

He was blabbering, and in the process giving me a headache. I couldn't follow half of what he was saying. Who were all those people? "I still don't get why you kidnapped me," I finally interrupted.

He looked at me thoughtfully. "Serenity, if I showed up and told you this story calmly, would you have believed me?"

I shook my head. "I still don't believe you. You sound like a raving lunatic."

Endymion nodded. "Exactly. And if I had told you that you needed to come with us, you would have put up a bigger fight and it would have been near impossible to pull you through into my world. Even your aunt, I doubt, would have been much help."

I sighed. "But – I –"

"Serenity, I know that you have no reason to trust me. You wouldn't even if you had your memories... but you'll have to make due. Besides... everyone's missed you lately. It'll be good for them to see you again, and it'll be safer for you here."

"But what about my Aunt Rose?" I could feel that this fight was closing, but I desperately didn't want it to. I was wary and tired and just wanted to _wake up_.

"She has nothing to do with your world, nor my world. He wouldn't be interested in her."

"But what if he tried to use her as bait to get to me?"

Endymion smiled at me and slowly stood up and offered me his hand. This time, I took it. "We have someone constantly watching her. But she is not our priority. You are a very important person, whether you know it or not. Your death could mean the death of thousands of others that are already rare to begin with. Normally, about three years ago,we wouldn't have bothered to help due to... an incident of a sort that had driven both of our worlds apart. However, your time here has shown us that not all of your people are bad, and we had been working on a treaty to bind our worlds as of late."

I nodded, and reluctantly began to follow him into what seemed to be the town of... wherever it was that we were. The buildings were tall and round, and even breathtaking, but I wasn't so interested in the surroundings as I would have expected to be. The buildings and houses seemed... natural... in the way that they stood, in this world. In fact, it would have actually seemed odd to see normal houses and buildings here.

As for why I was walking with him, I told myself, is because I would let him think I was obeying and would, eventually, get the heck out of wherever it was he was taking me.

"Serenity?" he asked, looking at me from the corner of his eye.

I looked up at him, suddenly feeling quite shy in his presence. Of course, now that I looked at him, he didn't seem like the type to be violent, what with his shining eyes and open face. But there was something I hadn't trusted about him before. Slowly, I felt my walls begin to crumble. I couldn't help it. He was familiar to me... if that made any sense. I wanted to believe him; I wanted to get to know him. But I also didn't.

"What do you remember about your thirteenth year?"

I frowned at the question, confused, but strained to remember anyway. "Well... I remember... a dream I had. But that's about it, I guess. I hadn't found it odd until you mentioned it... I remember everything after the dream, but not before..."

"What was the dream about?" he pressed, looking curiously at me.

"Well... I remember walking through something like this town with two girls and a... sort of talking toy, I guess. I had a broken leg, and it was in a cast, and my dress was torn up. I was covered in bruises, and hurt all over. They led me to something like the growth in my backyard that you took me through, and then I remember my Aunt Rose and how she had canceled class that night. But when I awoke, I remember looking at myself and there wasn't anything wrong with me or the dress, and the cast was gone... But it felt weird, somehow. Like the dream actually happened, you know?"

He nodded. "Have you considered that perhaps it did happen?"

I looked at him in surprise. "What do you mean, sir?"

Endymion shook his head. "Please, don't call me that. It makes me irritated. Just call me Endymion. Or Endy, as Frost likes to call me... Anyway, back on topic. There was something that happened before that could have healed your body. You had... uh... drawn some power for yourself, to use for a battle, but I suppose there was enough left to heal you. Your aunt must have gotten rid of the cast and replaced the dress."

I opened my mouth to protest, but was taken off guard by a castle that we were approaching. My jaw dropped the rest of the way down.

Endymion smiled. "Like it?"

I nodded mutely, staring at it.

"Well, good, because that will be where you will live for quite some time from this moment on."

I opened my mouth, then closed it. Then opened it again to say something, but nothing came out.

"Welcome back, Serenity, to my home."

Finally, I was able to look at him as we approached the steps. I stopped. "Who... who _are_ you?"

"I am Endymion, elfin prince of Elf City."

**TBC**

**A/N: **_So there it is. :p Now, I don't know when the Halloween story will come out, but the first chapter will be out soon. Just a heads up, it will be called _**Casimir Mansion**_. (Enter scary ghost music) LOL alright,** so review and tell me if you liked this chapter! ^^**_


	4. We Meet Again

**A/N:** _Sorry it took so long. As for the Halloween fic, I think it would be better to release it next year, so I would have it__ edited. It's taking a while, and I was busy trying out NaNoWriMo, which is a lot more fun than it seemed at first! I really have something pushing me to finish this one story. As for Elf Dawned, it will take me a long time to update, so just bare with me. Too many exams coming up, and I do need to rest sometimes. Meanwhile, ejoy what I can give!  
_

_**BY THE WAY!: **Just a thanks to unlockurdestiny for pointing out that it's ELF DAWNED BOOK 2, not 1 on the bottom there. :p My bad... So I'll fix the other two chapters eventually. :p Just bear with me until I do. ^^ Sometimes the copy/paste method does have its drawbacks! :p  
_

**Disclaimer: **_All rights are reserved to Naoko. I do not own Sailor Moon, but the story is all my creation._

**Summery: **_She came once, sucked under the spell of Endymion's eyes. She left, forgetting everything. Now she's back, learning it all over again... but this time, she's running for her life from the beginning._**  
**

* * *

**_Elf Dawned Book 2: By Chance..._**

_**Chapter 3**_**_:_**

Endymion led me through various halls, up some stairs, and into a cozy little room with a fireplace. It was dark, and the fire that glowed in the hearth fell onto the rug and walls, giving it a sort of homey feel.

"You got her!"

I turned to look at the group that was sprawled out to the side of the room. A raven-haired girl sat in a big fluffy chair, hugging her legs. A blue-haired girl and a blond girl sat on the couch. A brunette with a pony tail sat on the rug, her legs crossed, and two guys sat near the fire, one of which was Andrew and the other one with silver hair.

Andrew was the one who had spoken.

I narrowed my eyes at him, eyeing him distrustfully, but didn't say anything. Endymion put a hand on the small of my back, something I would realize later he did a lot of, and led me to the girls.

The blond girl stood up first, and, just like seeing Endymion, I felt that strange wave of deja-vu looking at her, and everyone else in this room. "I'm Mina! Oh, it's so good to see you again!" she grabbed me and enveloped me in a tight hug.

The raven haired girl clucked her tongue disapprovingly. "We're all happy to see her, Mins. But let the girl breathe! I thought we agreed we wouldn't freak on her." She paused, but then smiled at me. "I'm Ray, by the way."

Mina stopped choking me and led me to the couch, setting me down. "That's Amy," she pointed at the blue-haired girl. "That," pointing at the brunette, "is Lita. And This..." she pointed to the silver-haired man sitting next to Andrew, "is Kunzite, my boyfriend. Later you will meet Zoisite, who is all Amy's, and Jadeite, who is all Ray's, and, of course, we can't forget Nephrite, who's all Lita's."

"What about me?"

I looked around, searching for the chiming voice that spoke. Then I stared at Mina, who seemed to be looking at her shoulder. Then, out of her hair, a blue figure that looked like it was made of ice stepped onto her shoulder and smiled broadly at me. "Serena!"

I frowned and cocked my head. "Hey, I remember-"

"I'm Frost!" she continued, not seeming to have noticed my confusion. She clapped her hands; making a sort of _clink, clink_ noise that a glass piece makes when hit lightly against another glass piece.

I nodded, not sure what else to say. Frost, who seemed to not really care for the fact that it had gotten awkward in here, held her hands out to me. When I held out my hand to her awkwardly, she jumped on and hugged my finger. "I missed you, Serena!"

I nodded.

"Guess what?"

"What?" I asked, amused. Even though I had just met her, I knew then that I would like her.

"I'm gonna be three in a couple of months!"

"That's great! But... what are you..?"

"I am Frost."

I laughed.

Endymion came over and crouched in front of me. "She is my creation. Sort of like a glass figurine, but more ice than glass. She doesn't melt here in Elf City, and stays together like glass. She can live long, but if you take her out to the human world, she will begin to melt unless kept at frigid temperatures. Loud noise can kill her kind, but Frost seems to be immune to that fact as she is loud naturally. She eats ice and," he paused, smiling up at me, "she's yours."

I gasped my eyes wide. "Mine? What?"

"I... uh... made her for you when we first met. You two were quite close."

On the way through the castle, Endymion had explained to me what Elf City was, who lived here, the rules, and meekly mentioned that I might want to stay away from most of the commoners if I knew what was good for me. I found it all odd, but, in some ways, I was also fascinated. I mean – what are the chances of something like elves existing, right?

Frost stared at me with her blank blue eyes. "You still dont remember me?"

I shook my head at her. "I dreamt of you once, I think, but mostly no."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Ah well. I'll finally be moving back in with you anyway so we'll have lots of time to catch up!"

Mina harrumphed.

I assumed that she had been living with Mina as a substitute before I came along again.

"Ah, not so fast, Frost," Endymion said. "Serenity will need some time to adjust. You'll have to stay with Mina a little longer."

"I don't mind, actually," I said quietly, figuring that Frost would be easier to handle than the rest of them.

Mina harrumphed again.

Endymion put his hand on my knee, drawing circles with his thumb. I shied away from him, ignoring the warm feeling I got. I couldn't trust him – I wouldn't! "Yes, I know. But I was hoping that... perhaps you would like to get to know me again before that?"

Everyone in the room groaned.

"Endymion, you were the one who told us not to make such a big deal about her, and to let her adjust first," Amy reminded him strictly.

"Yeah," Ray intervened. "I wanted to take her fortune!"

"And I wanted to take her shopping!" Mina put in.

"I wanted to let her try some of my new cakes!" Lita exclaimed, nodding her head proudly.

"And I wanted to get on her good side again. Us humans have to stick together," Andrew called from the fireplace. "Besides, it's your fault for sending me there, knowing I'd mess up before I even started the mission..."

Endymion grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, sorry. You're all right. That was inconsiderate of me. Frost, if it's alright with Serenity, you can move in with her."

"Aw, come on!" Mina exclaimed. "I feed you, clothe you, and basically raise you, and you leave me for her?" Mina shook her head, "Traitor." But she was smiling, so I was glad that she wasn't taking offense.

"I love you Mina, but I love Serena too! Besides, you snore at night."

"Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say."

I laughed. Truly, I was beginning to like both Mina and Frost.

Endymion cleared his throat. "Uh, Serenity? I may not have mentioned this to you but... I kind of made a mistake earlier when we first met. And, by all means, you have every right to hate me..."

"Hate you?" I asked, frowning. "Why would I hate you? I don't trust you, yes, but I do not yet hate you."

He shrugged. "I just did a terrible thing. Of course, I was influenced... but even that isn't a good enough excuse."

"What, exactly, did you do?"

"I... uh... Remember how I told you that some elves might hate you?"

I nodded.

"Well, that's because they were told to... by me... and then I tried to, uh-"

"Serenity's back! Why didn't anyone tell me?"

I looked over my shoulder at a brown-haired man who stood in the doorway, dressed like Kunzite.

Mina spoke up beside me, "Hey Nephrite. She just got back."

He nodded, but didn't seem to be interested beyond that point. He sauntered over to Kunzite and said something to him in low tones. Then he, Kunzite, and Andrew got up and left the room. But before Andrew left, he turned to me and said, "We definitely must meet up and hang out. I promise you, you'll like me. I won't say any more nonesense. Scout's honour!" he put a hand to his heart and the other hand up in mid-air.

I raised my eyebrow as I watched them leave.

"Oh, that reminds me!" Ray said, sitting up. "The Queen wanted to meet with Serenity."

Endymion, still looking kind of miserable, got up and nodded at Ray. "I'll tell you later, Serenity. Right now, how about you come meet my mother? I think you'll like her."

He offered me his arm again, and I took it, giving Frost back to Mina. Frost pouted, crossing her arms and stomping her foot for emphasis. "I'll be back later," I said to her.

Endymion led me down the hall and around a corner. Now that things had actually began to process in my head, even though I still found it impossible, I was able to notice that the walls had the most beautiful designs.

The tops of the high walls had colorful circles that led you up and down the hall, swirling mesmerizingly. The walls also had words written on them. Sometimes they were just posters. I found this odd, because – well, think about it. You never saw the Beast's castle adorned with posters. Or Cinderella's.

One poster stood out most to me. Mostly because they sounded exactly like the words my aunt sang to me this morning while brushing my hair, if not a little different.

_Once upon a time,_

_There were two soul mates that could never be apart._

_And oh so far away_

_There was a prophesy that would never be fulfilled._

_The prophesy… _

_One that said 'Hardship'; one that said 'Agony'_

_But they ignored it _

_Because they knew..._

_Knew they were always meant to be_

I opened my mouth, pointing at the poster. "What is that? I thought-"

Endymion put his hands on my shoulders and led me into a big room. "Someday I will tell you about what those words mean, Serenity."

"But I wrote them!"

"Yes, you did."

"But-"

He put a finger to his lips, ending the conversation. Then, he stirred me towards a striking woman sitting on a throne. "That is my mother. Queen Terra."

The Queen, although petite, seemed taller than she was because of an air of authority she seemed to have. Her hair was ebony, like Endymion's, but also... different; with a tinge of blue. Her ears were just like Andrews, but more... soft looking. She had a cat-like elegance that Endymion had, and a soft, relaxed posture that didn't scare you away. Her eyes were a remarkably green shade.

I looked at Endymion, for the first time noticing his ears. Just like the Queen's. I reached out, caressing his right ear with my pointer finger and thumb. His point curled lightly, adding an accent to his strong jawline.

He grinned. "That tickles."

I laughed, remembering how Andrew had told me it tickled him, too.

"Serenity, welcome back, it is as refreshing as always to see you again."

I turned back to the Queen, smiling up at her, and curtseyed. She grinned, ammused. To sum up my expectations of Endymion's mother: she was nothing like I thought she would be.

But, also, not at all surprising that she wasn't.

"Where's dad?" Endymion asked, letting go of my shoulders and stepping forward.

The Queen regarded me, looking weary. "He's at a meeting trying to settle the treaty between her world and ours."

Endymion nodded.

"Serenity," the Queen said, turning her attention back to me. "I see my son has been very unhospitable to you. I presume that you are hungry? Tired? Maybe you wish to get cleaned up?"

Of all things, Endymion blushed.

But now that I was thinking about it, I was kind of hungry. Not tired, more excited, if that makes any sense. And the twigs I had noticed in my hair were bothering me. I didn't know what the rest of me looked like, but I could guess it wasn't pretty.

"Yes, your highness."

She grinned at me, and then turned to her son. "Endymion, take her to her old rooms. Have the maids prepare a bath and... For goodness' sakes, take care of her hair."

Endymion nodded, looking like he had just gotten spanked. He guided me out of the throne room and down another hallway, up some more steps, and around a corner. In the middle of the very small hall were two large doors. The doors looked like a dragon face poking out from the darkness.

"That," he pointed to the dragon face, "is my room. You may come to me whenever you feel like you want to chat. This," he led me to a simple-doored room to the left of his, right next door, "is your room. Mia will draw your bath for you."

He signaled to a maid rushing past with his hands, and she nodded and left in a hurry, then seconds later came back and entered the room, expertly navigating through it to the adjoining bathroom.

The room was simple enough. There was a large bed on one side, a closet directly across from it. A nightstand stood off to the right of the bed. Next to the closet was a desk with a hair brush, tall mirror, hair pins, hair scrunchies, perfumes, and so on, partnered with a chair. The walls were a simple white tone.

"Here, come sit here and I'll take some of the twigs out of your hair." Endymion set me down on the chair and began to brush my hair, gently removing one of the thousands of twigs embedded in my locks. I relaxed against the back of the chair, letting him run his fingers through my hair. If there was one thing that I loved beyond anything else, was when people brushed my hair. Right then, it didn't matter that I had been kidnapped.

"So," I said, "who is 'he' exactly?"

He furred his brow. "He? What do you mean?"

"You know. That guy who's after me?"

Realization dawned on his face, but he didn't say anything for a long time. Then, finally, he spoke in hushed tones, "We aren't sure, Serenity. We've been trying to figure out all we can about him. His name, we don't know for sure. But we know what to expect when we see him. There were a few victoms who escaped his grasp. They say they didn't see him, but when he came close, he smelt of blood. And something else."

"How do you know it's him?"

"We don't. We're just guessing, because so far that's all we have to work with."

"After a year?"

"Serenity, if I told you to find a guy named George, or else you'd die in a week, and then left, where would you start looking?"

I blanked. "Uh... can you be more specific?"

"Exactly! There are millions, maybe billions, of people who could qualify! It's the same for this guy. We're doing the best we can, but we don't have much to work with."

I nodded. He brushed my hair for a few more minutes, and then set the brush down. "I did all I can. If you need help washing your hair, you can call any maid you see and ask."

I got up and thanked him, just as Mia left the bathroom and scurried down the hall after curtseying to Endymion.

"You need help with your dress?" he asked.

I raised an eyebrow, startled. "What?"

"I seem to remember your aunt had a way with bows… and chose very stiff zippers."

I grinned. It was true, and even though I don't remember him or even having told him about the zippers, it felt kind of good to know that he remembered. And even though it was weird (I mean, come on, some guy comes along and knows the little things about your life that most people don't? Creepy...) it still felt kind of like he had listened.

"Sure. You could just get the zipper. There's no bow on this dress."

"Thank the Elfen Queen," he murmured, pulling me to his chest. I put my hands to his chest, like I had been in his arms before, and felt his muscles ripple as he struggled with the zipper. My heart sped up at the thought, making me mad. I didn't even know him, and he had kidnapped me! I couldn't – no, _wouldn'_t - feel anything for him. But even so, I felt like this had all somehow happened, his warm arms holding me like this, that feeling of deja-vu again, but I had been getting that a lot today.

He pulled at the zipper, struggling with it, and I laughed at the sheer foolishness of it. "Oh, you think this is funny, eh?"

"Yes, I do," I replied. "I never expected an elf, much less a prince, to struggle with one of my aunt's obsessions." It felt weird, knowing that this boy holding me was actually an _elf_. And a _prince_. I mean, _come on_... this was kind of impossible, if you thought about it, but maybe if I woke up tomorrow I'd find that this was all a dream, so I might as well go along with it, right?

Eh, who am I kidding? It was still odd.

"Well, then you're one lucky girl," he murmured, finally tugging it down enough so I could wiggle out of it.

"Thank-you. Now shoo. Let me enjoy my bath."

He grinned. "No matter how many times we meet, it will always go like this, won't it?"

"What do you mean?"

He shook his head, as if to clear it, then smiled. "Never mind."

I pushed him out and he laughed, but obeyed.

Before he left, though, he said to me, "Let's hope not all history repeats, Serenity."

When I finally shut the door and got into my bath, I could feel the day's events sagging against my shoulders.

Happy birthday to me.

**TBC**

**A/N: **_Please review and tell me what you think! ^_^_**  
**


	5. Books and Spells

**A/N:** _I RELLY really like the ending of this chapter. :p Hope those of you who read the first book recognize it.:p__  
_

_**BY THE WAY!: **Just a thanks to unlockurdestiny for pointing out that it's ELF DAWNED BOOK 2, not 1 on the bottom there. :p My bad... So I'll fix the other two chapters eventually. :p Just bear with me until I do. ^^ Sometimes the copy/paste method does have its drawbacks! :p  
_

**Disclaimer: **_All rights are reserved to Naoko. I do not own Sailor Moon, but the story is all my creation._

**Summery: **_She came once, sucked under the spell of Endymion's eyes. She left, forgetting everything. Now she's back, learning it all over again... but this time, she's running for her life from the beginning._**  
**

* * *

**_Elf Dawned Book 2: By Chance..._**

_**Chapter 4**_**_:_**

_"Serenity!"_

_ "Who's there?" The voice was and wasn't mine – a phantom voice. It spoke for itself, scared, trembling. I did not control it._

_ "Serenity... give me what I wish for..."_

_ "Where are you?"_

_ "Please..."_

_ "Who's there!" Although the begging voice stayed at the same volume, my voice kept getting louder and louder._

_ "Serenity..!"_

"Serenity! He-llo-o? Anybody in there?"

I groaned, realizing that I wouldn't be able to fall asleep again. I also realized, though vaguely, that I didn't want to, anyway. Not if it meant going back to the dreams.

"I'm up! I'm up! I'll come down in a minute." I mumbled under my breath, "I _so_ do not feel like playing the piano right now."

The voice that awoke me giggled, sounding strange. That's when I realized that it wasn't Aunt Rose that had woken me up. I also realized that what had happened last night wasn't a dream after all.

I groaned again, only this time louder.

"Come on, sunshine, wake up." A different voice.

I opened my eye, finding the blue figurine from last night staring down at it. "Oh. Hello Frost."

She grinned a big grin. "We wanna have breakfast with you!"

I opened my other eye, seeing the blond girl from yesterday. "Mina, right?"

She nodded, looking amused.

"Alright, alright, let me at least refreshen."

Mina shrugged and picked Frost up. "We'll meet you in the kitchen."

It took me a while after they left to realize I didn't actually know where the kitchen was.

Great...

I went through my morning ritual, leaving my hair down today, and walked out in a brown dress I had found on the chair. I didn't wear my courset dress, though, as this dress ended at my knees and would look strange with it on.

I also couldn't find another shorter courset dress, and felt very naked walking out of my room.

I looked around; hoping a maid or a chef or _anyone_ would walk by so I could ask them where the kitchen was.

No such luck.

I walked to Endymion's door, hoping I wasn't waking him, and knocked.

No one answered.

When I was about to knock again, hands circled around my waist, shocking me, and a deep voice whispered in my ear, "What does the lady wish for?"

I shivered as his hot breath touched my skin. "I wish to know where the kitchen is."

He chuckled and pulled away, and I turned to look at him. He was wearing black armour and sweat glistened on his forehead, but even dishiveled as he was he still looked... well... like _him_.

"It's on the other side of the third floor."

"We are on the third floor, aren't we?" I'm amazed I was able to keep track, what with all the turns and stairs and halls and rooms. This place also had a very backwards way of doing things.

He shrugged. "Well, it's on the other side of this floor, then. Better?"

"Uh... not really," I said.

"Well, it doesn't matter. Why, are you hungry?"

"Nah. Not usually. Mina asked to come by."

"Ah. They've cornered you already, have they?"

I nodded. "I don't mind, though. Beats eating alone."

"I was going to ask you to join me, but I guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow."

"Why don't you join us now?" I asked.

"I need a shower, and this suit isn't comfortable, if you know what I mean. It'll take a while to get out of."

"Suit yourself."

He smiled, making my blood warm. "How about after breakfast, you come find me and we'll talk then?"

"Sure."

"Since you're obviously so enamoured with me-"

"Am not!" I put my hands to my waist.

"That's what they all say."

"You-you-you..." I shook my head, fighting a grin.

Endymion laughed, and picked me up, swinging me around to face the hallway. His hand touched my back, and impulsively I arched away from his hand. I squirmed in his arms, for some reason suddenly feeling cold and uncomfortable in his tight grip.

He saw the look on my face, and let go of me. His own face went blank. "This way."

He took me to the kitchen, explaining that usually everyone ate here instead of the dining room because it was quieter, unless someone important was around and they were all needed.

I nodded, liking the sound of his voice, but at the same time feeling goosebumps rising on my arms. I was almost disappointed when he left me to go take a shower, but then I reminded myself that even though I had agreed to go along with whatever crazy plan he and the rest of his... friends... had, I was still kidnapped last night.

That send a chill down my spine, and I decided to forget it. I was starting to regret agreeing to meet him later today.

"Serenity!"

I looked up, spotting Amy, the blue-haired girl, with a plate of bacon and eggs. She nodded at me. "Have you slept well?"

"Yes. I did." I looked at her, tilting my head. I had met her yesterday, but with all the drama, I hadn't really inspected her at all. It was a miracle I was able to remember her name... well, not really, since seeing blue hair was a tad... unusual...

"Say," I said, furring my brow, "something doesn't seem..."

She grinned at me, and pointed at her hair, which ended just below the shoulders in soft curls. "Last time we met, I had short hair. Mina convinced me to let it grow out."

I snapped my fingers, somehow knowing that she was right. "It looks great."

She blushed. "Thanks. So, Serenity, how have you been?"

I contemplated whether to tell her how I really felt. But, it was Amy, and she seemed like the type that would understand. Without further thought, I found my feelings spilling out in one breath. "I've been... good... I guess. I find this just a tad bit intimidating, if you know what I mean. I don't know if I should trust anything that goes on, but each time I open my mouth to say one thing, I end up saying something else entirely."

Amy blew her bangs out of her face. "You know, everyone here really is trying to help you."

I nodded, frowning. "So I've been told."

"But you still have mixed feelings, I'm assuming?"

I considered my feelings. "Well... some people, like Mina or... Frost, if she can be considered a 'people', I warm up to right away. Others like... Endymion... I just..." I shrugged. How could I explain to her that even though I joke and laugh with him one minute, I feel like punching, kicking, biting... _yelling_ at him the next? Or running away and never looking back?

She pursed her lips, and walked up to me, putting a hand on my shoulder. "It will take some time, Serenity. Some scars never heal, no matter how much you want them to. Endymion... has been though a lot in the past couple of years. He did some things that he regrets. He wants nothing more than to fix those things."

"Why doesn't he?" _And what did that have to do with me?_

"It's... complicated. He wants to fix those things, but he also somehow talked himself into believing that what he did can't be fixed; would be better off left alone. But he's trying, Serenity. Just remember one thing: A person who forgives can save the person that is forgiven. A person who doesn't... might have killed the one person who needs to be forgiven more than anything else."

I shook my head. "What does that have to do with how I feel about being here?" Not to mention being next to Endymion, for that matter. But I let that thought, also, slide.

She smiled a small smile and patted my arm. "I hope one day you will know."

"Hey! You made it! I forgot that you forgot how to get here, and I was just going to come get you. Looks like you did remember!"

I turned to Mina, who stood with Frost in her hand panting.

"Yeah, Mina freaked out and started raving about how your poor soul will forever be lost in the castle while everyone looks for you and somehow a week later they would find you in a broom closet without a pulse. I told her she was overreacting…"

I grinned. "Endymion showed me the way."

"Ahh," Mina exclaimed, putting Frost on her shoulder and clasping her hands. "So - are you and Endymion getting close yet?"

"Not particularly, no," I mumbled.

She scowled. "That's too bad. Well, never mind that. Breakfast? We have a bunch of fruit that came in fresh this morning. Grapes and raspberries and cherries and I think we have some apples and strawberries, too, but those usually get used up pretty fast for pie. So we also have pie and-"

Amy patted Mina's shoulder. "It's okay, Mina, she'll pick out what she wants. Let's eat."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

I ended up eating some pie, a couple of cherries, grapes, and raspberries. I momentarily felt guilty for not sticking to my normal breakfast, but then I figured that I might as well enjoy myself while I was here.

After breakfast, I thanked them all and walked out, thinking about the note I still hadn't opened, supposedly from Aunt Rose.

In the safety of my room, I tore the envelope – now wrinkled – and slipped the note out.

_Serenity, _it said, _please trust that this is done for your own good. Trust Endymion – he will help you. For your own safety, don't talk to anyone besides Endymion and whomever he thinks would benefit you. Lastly, remember that I did this because I love you. You will be home soon. With love, Aunt Rose._

It was written in her hand, and even provided a signature, but I still wasn't convinced.

I searched through the envelope, and found a black-and-white photograph of myself from when I was twelve, and a squashed flower that she used in all her envelopes to make them scented.

I placed the note back and put the envelope on the dresser table.

Was I in denial, like the characters in the books I read so often? Did my Aunt really send for Endymion to bring me to this place?

If not, then why isn't she looking for me? She would have found me. It wasn't too long of a walk from my house to here.

But then, she may not know about the growth in the yard leading here…

I sighed and ran my fingers along the crescent moon scar on my right hand leading across my palm and ending between my thumb and forefinger. It, along with some smaller scars on four of my fingers, had showed up out of nowhere one night. Or, at least, I think it did. Perhaps I had just never noticed it before.

There was a knock on my door, and I almost jumped out of my skin. Slowly, I walked to the door and opened it, peering outside. A woman with tied up black hair and a maid's uniform stood outside, holding towels, and waiting patiently.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Room service. Lord Endymion's orders."

"Oh." I opened the door and let her in.

The maid bowed, before she busied herself dusting my furniture. Clearly, I wasn't going to get any privacy in here.

So I left the room and began to explore. After all, knowing my way around would probably increase my chances of maneuvering around here, right?

I started with the ground level, and made my way up. Amongst some locked doors, paintings, and posters, I also discovered several stacked libraries. What I found was that either these people were crazy and really went all out to make me believe they were elves, or they really were and I had to admit it sooner or later. Why? Because as many books I picked up, from as many libraries in all the different sections, the books mainly described the history of the elven folk.

One I picked up described the different types of magic powers that the elves possessed. The first thing it said was that all elves have a magic power; but only one magical ability. Then, it talked of the various powers the past rulers of the kingdom had. Amongst making fires and frosts and changing the weather, was the ability to foresee the future, tell the past, control the stars, change and read the thoughts of others, and the list just never ended.

I put the book back on the shelf, memorizing where I put it for later, and continued to explore.

I turned the corner from that library, only to find a bunch of doors. I walked down the hall, opening the first door, which led to what looked like a geography room holding different maps and globes and locations.

I closed that door and walked to the next. There, I found a storage room full of some interesting furniture. A rocking chair; some expensive and soft-looking fabric; a pile of feathers...

I closed that door, too. The next door led to a sitting area.

I walked to the next door, which led to a broom closet.

There were brooms, and pans, and vacuums, and different cleaning detergents, baskets, mops, towels, and even a bunch of bags to the side. It was a small room, but what I noticed was that none of the stuff leaned against the far wall. They all leaned away from the wall, as if put the way they were with care. And on that wall was a little sun. It was a yellow circle, with some squiggles that darted out. I pressed my finger against it and drew out the shape. When I got to the twelfth squiggle, I pressed my hand against the wall, only to have the part with the sun on it move in. I pulled my hand back, startled, and cried out when the whole wall moved and shook the little room. It crept open, leading to a bigger room behind the wall. I gaped.

The room was giant, and well-lit. There was the same sun shape right in the middle of the room, like a rug, against a beige floor. A large window stretched against most of one wall. There were several book cases, and a desk with some drawing tools on the side, and a sewing kit, and a book in the making being sewn together. Above the desk were pictures of angels, roses, butterflies, and some of Frost the ice figurine. There was a couple that looked like me, too.

The room was lit by the sun, which made it seem even more mystical to me: a secret room in a broom closet.

I closed the broom closet door and stepped into the room, looking around in amazement. The first thing I did was walk towards the book case, expecting something more about the history.

The first book I took out was instead a romance novel, with a pretty blond girl on the cover. She had very fair skin, and almost seemed like she was shining. Her eyes were blood red, though, a startling contrast from the otherwise angelic face. She was looking up in thought, and I would otherwise be drawn to this picture, if not for the unsettling eyes. It made her seem not as fragile as I would imagine her to be without them.

_Not What It Seems _byEndymion McNeil.

I raised an eyebrow. Endymion was interested in literature? His last name was McNeil? (Well… to be honest, I couldn't say that I was too surprised. I suppose that he must like to do things in his free time, and a lot of normal people do have last names – why not royalty? Then again, this isn't a 'normal' place…)

Then this must be his study…

I turned the book over, trying to find the summery of the book, but it was just a blank purple page. I checked inside, but there was no summery there, too. I flipped some more pages. After a while of flipping, I stopped, realizing that they were blank, with only the pages numbered on the bottom. I felt a page with my finger to see if there was anything weird about it, but it was a regular page. I closed the book and turned it to the back again, then opened it. I flipped a couple of pages, and that's when I saw the writing, about a hundred pages in from the back.

_I threw her against the wall, outraged at her, and watched her cry out in pain. It broke my heart, and I walked forward to help her, but instead said vile things. It was as if something was controlling my body and_

Then there was nothing. It was written in the middle of the page to the right, and just kind of cut off.

I flipped some more pages back, looking carefully this time. Closer to the beginning was another excerpt.

_She had the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen. I couldn't stop thinking of her. I was distracted all day, so I went into my study, and there she was, at my desk, reading one of my books with a_

It stopped there, and I got a chill. This book was… creepy… That was the first thing that came to my mind: creepy. It wasn't really; more mysterious. But it did give off a creepy vibe, in the way that it was written.

Someone cleared his throat, and I jumped, startled, letting the book fall from my hands onto the floor, and froze.

"I'm beginning to think that maybe this study isn't such a great hiding place. You've found it twice without really knowing where it was. Of course, it might just be instinct that brought you here this time, but I might never know, will I?"

I turned slowly, to find Endymion standing near the entrance with his hands in his pockets, looking more cleaned up.

I picked up the book and put it back on the shelf, then stepped back from him. His face scrunched up for a second, but then it was blank again. He pressed a part of the wall next to the entrance, and the little opening I had used to enter the study closed. I stepped back again.

He sighed. "Don't worry, Serenity. I'm not going to hurt you. I just don't want anyone else finding this spot. It's a secret, and I would appreciate it if you kept it a secret."

"And if I don't?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Then you won't. I'm asking a favor, not threatening you."

I watched him, and he just stood there. Then, finally, he turned away and walked to his desk, and began to work on stitching the rest of the book I saw on the desk earlier together. He picked up a couple of papers from a stack on the table with writing, and checked them over before placing them on top and began to stitch them.

I watched his back as he worked, standing stiffly and quietly. I could see the tension in his shoulders, and I wondered idly, not for the first time, what his arms would feel like around me.

But no. He was my captor.

So was it such a bad thing that I was losing that image of him after only a day of being here?

Yes, yes it was, I decided. He was good looking, and didn't act at all like a kidnapper. But that didn't mean he didn't kidnap me. It also didn't mean that I was in over my head about all this.

I fingered my star-locket, feeling the shiny surface. By mistake, as I was rubbing it, I pushed open the part that makes it start playing music. The melody was loud in the quiet, tense room, and as soon as it was on, Endymion had fallen still and listened to it quietly.

When it went through its round, I pulled the cap close. He turned slowly in his chair to look at me, his eyes searching my face for a sign of… what? What was I supposed to act like?

Obviously, whatever it was, it wasn't portrayed in my expression, since he turned back without a word and began to work on his book again.

**TBC**

**A/N: **_Hehehe, I know you'll hate me for this, so I'm gonna do it anyway. :p REVIEW please and tell me what you think! Sorry for the long wait. Been really busy lately. :p Enjoy!_


	6. Castle of Thorns

**A/N:** _Alright, I recently had some time to write and edit, so here is another chapter. Enjoy!  
_

_**BY THE WAY!: **Just a thanks to unlockurdestiny for pointing out that it's ELF DAWNED BOOK 2, not 1 on the bottom there. :p My bad... So I'll fix the other two chapters eventually. :p Just bear with me until I do. ^^ Sometimes the copy/paste method does have its drawbacks! :p  
_

**Disclaimer: **_All rights are reserved to Naoko. I do not own Sailor Moon, but the story is all my creation._

**Summery: **_She came once, sucked under the spell of Endymion's eyes. She left, forgetting everything. Now she's back, learning it all over again... but this time, she's running for her life from the beginning._**  
**

* * *

**_Elf Dawned Book 2: By Chance..._**

_**Chapter 5**_**_:_**

I watched him work on his book in silence. I had been here for about an hour, and had eventually gone back to find the book with the angelic face with red eyes. I had only found one more inscription in the end. _I always described her the same way to anyone who'd ask: "She was the goddess of shadows. Underneath that delicacy, a ranging storm." I love her… but she was gone, and I could only blame_

I had flipped through each page carefully this time, trying to find something that would clue me in on the story. And yet, all I found were the same excerpts. I had put the book back a while ago, and taken out another one. It was older, the book not as carefully binned as the first one I had leafed through. This one was called _Hearts of Spells _and was basically about a girl who had fallen in love with an Angel, who in the end was ripped from her arms by fate. It was good enough, I suppose. A bit dramatic, written by a young hand, but I still liked the basic plot of it. I had read the first couple of pages, captivated, until I had seen him watching me read one of his books. I had put it back afterwards and had done nothing but watch him.

Why didn't I leave? I don't know, but I didn't.

"So," he suddenly said.

I looked up at him, looking him in the eye. He instantly looked away. "I-is everyone treating you alright?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"Good." Endymion paused, thinking his next words over. "You know, Serenity, I was saying before how sorry I was about- ah…" he sighed and brushed his hand through his hair, ruffling it. "It's just that I… um…"

"What?" I asked. Not rudely, curiously.

He sighed again and put his head in his hands. "Never mind," he mumbled from behind them.

"No, what?" I asked.

"Not now, Serenity."

"You started the conversation, so finish it."

"Serenity," he moaned my name, sounding somewhat like a dying animal. I shut my mouth and dropped it.

We were quiet for some time before Endymion stood up from his chair and went to sit next to me against the wall. When he saw me tense up, he moved away from me a little. "You know, it's a beautiful city. You really loved it here as a kid." I heard something else behind those words. _You loved me._ It was obvious that something had happened here with me and between us. I wasn't sure how far it went, but no one could just fake something to this extent … could they?

"Yeah, well, I'm sure I did, but seeing as how I don't remember it…"

"Why don't you try to enjoy your time here?"

"Because I've been kidnapped."

"You weren't kidnapped! Didn't you read the letter?"

"It could have been forged."

He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "What will it take for you to believe me? I explained everything I could to you yesterday, and your aunt gave you the note, and-and-" he put his hands to his hair and ran his fingers through them. "It's driving me insane!"

"Why do you care?" I asked. "It's not like you have to make me enjoy myself."

"No," he said. "I don't. But…"

When he didn't say anything more, I looked up at him, to see him watching me. "What?" I asked.

"You're so different…"

I clenched my dress in my hands and played with the fabric.

"It's like you've died…"

I saw red hair in my head, and red eyes. The pale girl with the red eyes looking up.

"You're not her anymore, are you?"

I looked at him. "I honestly have no idea what you mean."

"Of course you don't. You're not her."

"Who?"

He looked down at his hand, and then at me. "The girl I fell in love with." When I didn't say anything, he started mumbling to me… or to himself. I wasn't sure who he was telling it to, now that I think about it, but it might have been for the both of us. "She was the happiest, most curious being I've ever met. She loved my ears," he chuckled quietly. "She loved my city as much as I did, if not more. She accepted everything and everyone. She went through some Hell here near the end, but she beat her way through it and came out strong. Then," he turned to look me in the eye, "she forgot everything. She changed. She died… You died."

I saw the curly red hair again, this time accompanied by an angular face. Her eyes were green, but could also have matched her hair.

"Beryllium…" I mumbled.

"What?" he asked, looking up at me in surprise.

I wasn't sure where it had come from, but I know that it was something important. Something that he had said had given me this feeling... something edgy and deadly.

"Beryllium… do you know anyone named Beryllium?"

"You mean Beryl?"

I fingered the scar on my hand and scrunched my eyebrows together, thinking hard. "I don't know. I know Beryllium sticks out in my mind, and when I think of that name I see a red-haired girl… or woman…"

"That would be Beryl. She's gone now, though... You killed her."

I looked up at him. "No. Beryllium." I tried to push away the comment about me killing someone named Beryl. I didn't want to know.

Endymion shook his head, staring back. "It's Beryl. Do you need to see her grave?"

"It might be a different person," I mumbled.

"I'm sure you mean Beryl." He sat up straight all of a sudden. "I can prove it!"

"It's Beryllium, I'm sure of it!"

"Not that!" He grabbed my hands. "That you're not kidnapped!"

I didn't tense up as fast this time. His hands were warm and familiar. The sight of my small hands in his large ones was familiar.

I took a deep breath to clear my head and began to pull my hands away. But he stopped me and turned my right hand over, looking at the scars. He fingered them slowly, gently, one by one; sending tingles down my spine, not unpleasant, before letting my hand go.

"Come with me. We're going to go see your Aunt."

"What?" I asked. He was going to take me back?

"Yes! We have to keep you here, and if we can't convince you, why not your aunt? We were told to protect you. We weren't given specific orders to keep you in here. I'm sure that she'd love to explain this to you!"

He sounded so excited, it got me excited. But I could feel a catch coming on.

"But if we're going to do this, you have to promise me something."

I hesitated. "It depends…"

"You won't be difficult. You'll go back with us. You won't try to kill me, or cause me bodily harm."

I smirked, remembering the night of my birthday. "What, don't want to get beaten up by a girl twice?"

He grinned. "My ego can't stand it. So… deal?"

I looked at his hand, which he reached out for me to shake. But then what could go wrong? He'd be proving to me that I was here for a reason, my aunt would convince me to stay here, and I'd finally get to enjoy myself. And if not, I was back with my Aunt, and I'm sure we could both figure out what to do together…

I shook his hand.

"Ahh… Serenity! Endymion! Good to see you two together."

I watched Andrew get up from where he was sitting, playing his trumpet. "Are you finally enjoying yourself here, Serenity?"

I frowned. "I'm going home."

He gawked at me for a second, and then looked at Endymion for confirmation. When Endymion nodded, he grabbed him by the shoulders. "Are you crazy? What if that guy finds her there! There is a reason we're all watching over her here instead of in her world now!"

"I know, I know. But we weren't told specifically that she has to stay here."

"But- you think the best solution is to take her back? That would be like throwing her into the mouth of a fire-breathing dragon and telling her she's safe just as he's about to breath. In what world do you think she's safe?" he hissed, staring Endymion dead in the eyes.

"Relax," Endymion said, patting his back. "We're just going over there for a few minutes, maybe an hour, to let her talk to her aunt about why she's here. You know how stubborn she is."

"I don't know, man," Andrew said, watching me carefully. "I don't remember Serenity being as stubborn as she was impulsive. Those are two different things."

"She grew up," Endymion muttered, now looking at me also. "There's nothing I can do about it. But she does deserve this."

It didn't look like Andrew was convinced, but Endymion didn't seem to care. "Call the Generals and get five of the best guards to come with us."

"Endymion I don't think this is such a good idea. You're rushing into things, and I understand you want her trust, but there are safer ways."

"Like what?" Endymion asked, turning away. "Letting her stay here, thinking foul things?"

"We don't even know the situation there now. Endymion, please listen to me-"

But Endymion had left, leaving Andrew and me in the room.

Andrew turned away from the door and said a few choice words before realizing I was still there. He blew a breath of air out and ruffled his sandy blond hair. "Serenity, please go talk him out if this."

"Why?" I asked. Why would I talk my captor out of bringing me back home? It seemed ridiculous that he would even suggest it.

"When he's made up his mind, there is no reasoning with him. But you had managed to do so before… I really don't think we should go tonight."

I sighed. "Look, nothing is going to happen. We left yesterday, we come back today and talk everything out, and then if I'm happy with the things I hear, I'll come back with you. Nothing could possibly happen, right?"

His grip on the trumpet hardened until his knuckles were white. I tried to ignore that fact as I watched his blank face look me over. "You know what? Do as you like. I'm just the messenger in this part of town. I mean – what do I know, right? If the soon-to-be King thinks it's a good idea to bring you back, then who am I to argue, right?"

I raised my eyebrow at him. "Andrew?"

"No, Serenity, it's fine. You both are right. Go on now. Go get some sleep or get some lunch or something. I'm just going to stay here and practice a little while longer." To prove his point, he placed the trumpet to his lips again and began to play loudly.

I sighed and left the room. As soon as the doors closed, the trumpet stopped screeching and there was a crashing sound like armor falling from the wall, followed by some more choice words from Andrew. I hesitated, wanting to see if he was ok, when some more banging emanated from the room. I hurried away, deciding to let him cool down.

The way back to the entrance separating my world from Endymion's was all a blur to me. All I really took in was the architect of some of the buildings, and how odd it was, and the bonfire in the middle of the sandy dance floor.

Many of the elves there were amazing, to say the least, as they danced. They did flips and high jumps and kept the beat going, never stopping their fun, on-the-spot routines. They were like trapeze artists, dancing to the beat of their own drum, and hypnotizing the audience into their skillful illusion of safety and simplicity in the moves that, in truth, are better off watched than done.

Endymion ignored all of them as he walked through the middle of the picture-perfect moment, somehow shattering the magic. I stopped to watch his back, and a few of the guards stopped with me. The picture of ignorance that was Endymion was out of place. It was like he didn't belong in this fun, magic-woven moment, even though he had created it.

I felt a pang in my heart, and only realized that he had stopped to stare at me when one of the guards cleared his throat. I blinked, and the picture instantly disappeared.

I walked towards him, and when I reached him, he put his hand on the small of my back. "You ok?" he asked.

I nodded, and mutely followed him through the crowd to the growth.

He stepped through first, and I followed, hating the twigs that wove into my hair and the thorns that embedded themselves into my skin. When I got to the other side, I was surprised to find it was daytime. This probably would have convinced me of the magic and the elves, and I hated to admit it, but I was still looking for one last reason to believe that this was all a very elaborate prank and I was stupid enough to fall for any of it.

As soon as I saw the house, I stopped. The lights were all off, and the grass that normally got trimmed in the morning every day by the servants was noticeably taller than the one-inch long blades that my aunt treasured. Something was off.

Endymion had stopped, too.

"I don't think this is a good idea," Andrew mumbled from behind me. "Something's off."

Endymion stood rigidly in front of me. "Nonsense…" he whispered. "Nothing's wrong. Nothing can possibly have gone wrong."

I stood in the middle of the conversation, and felt instantly nauseous.

"Maybe we should-"

"Nothing's wrong!" he said, turning to me. His eyes burned into mine, willing me to agree with him.

I opened my mouth, but he turned away and stared at the house again.

"Let's go in."

Andrew shifted uneasily behind me, but didn't say anything this time.

Endymion began his way through my aunt's garden and around to the kitchen door. I followed closely behind him.

When we reached the door, he pulled it open easily and strode in.

"Aunt Rose?" I called, ignoring the nagging feeling in my stomach.

When no one answered, I called out again. Then a third time.

"Where do you think she is?" I asked, my quiet words somehow sounding louder than my previous calls in the still quiet.

Endymion's hand rested on the pommel of his sword, his pinkie twitching. I walked around him, into the hallway, and called out for the fourth time.

"Where is she?" I asked, turning back to Endymion.

He strode toward me, his face blank. "She's in here. I know it. She has to be. Guards, go look for her."

I frowned as everyone but Endymion and myself filed out of the kitchen and into the house, taking different sections of the mansion.

"We'll find her, Serenity. You know we will."

I brushed my bangs away from my forehead and sighed. "Maybe she went to the store or-or… But what about everyone else? And… the grass it's…"

"Endymion!"

Our heads snapped up as a guard approached us. "Lord, we found a man!"

My heart skipped a beat.

"Who?"

"Come see."

We followed him through the house until we reached the room next to the ballroom, where my dancing instructor, Bowrece, was staying. He had stuck around since I was thirteen, somehow not scared away by my poor dancing skills, and had helped me attain some sort of grace in my step. I had a feeling that the only reason he put up with me was because he was infatuated with my aunt, but I could never prove it.

I walked into the room and gasped, running to Bowrece's side. He was lying in an odd angle, as if thrown against the wall by a strong force, his hip jutting out in a painful angle.

"Bowrece? Bowrece! Wake up! Come on," I touched his shoulder, shaking it gently. He groaned.

"Rose?"

"No," I said, "It's me, Serenity."

"Serenity…" he groaned, his eyes rolling back. "Rose… gone… black... black shadow… smells of…" he stopped there, gasping in pain, and Endymion inched closer to us.

"Smells of what?" Endymion asked.

"Blood…"

Bowerece coughed a few times.

Endymion cursed.

"Where's Aunt Rose?" I asked.

"He took her…"

"Who? Who took her?"

"The shadow…"

My head felt like it weighed a lot, and I suddenly couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.

The man who was trying to get me had my Aunt.

It was true. It was all true.

That's when I fainted.

When I came to again, I was being carried by Endymion out of the house. When I looked back at the home that had housed me for years, it suddenly looked different. Covered in vines and thorns and dark shadows, it looked gruesome. Beautiful and terrifying.

It looked utterly beastly.

**TBC**

**A/N: **_So REVIEW and tell me what you think. I know it might seem to be kind of bumpy for now, but the plot I constructed is designed to be a bit bumpy. Tell me if I seem to be going too fast, and I'll look into it. Comments are always much appriciated**. **And yes, I know it may look like a cliffy, but trust me, it isn't that bad... the next chapter is actually a bit calmer... just a bit. :p Nothing too shocking..._


	7. Prophesy

**A/N:** _Hmm... :p Happy June! :p  
_

_**BY THE WAY!: **Just a thanks to unlockurdestiny for pointing out that it's ELF DAWNED BOOK 2, not 1 on the bottom there. :p My bad... So I'll fix the other two chapters eventually. :p Just bear with me until I do. ^^ Sometimes the copy/paste method does have its drawbacks! :p  
_

**Disclaimer: **_All rights are reserved to Naoko. I do not own Sailor Moon, but the story is all my creation._

**Summery: **_She came once, sucked under the spell of Endymion's eyes. She left, forgetting everything. Now she's back, learning it all over again... but this time, she's running for her life from the beginning._**  
**

* * *

**_Elf Dawned Book 2: By Chance..._**

_**Chapter 6**_**_:_**

There was a knock on my door, but I didn't bother to respond. I knew exactly who it was. He had been knocking on my door for the past week, trying to get me to come out.

Endymion opened the door, and peered inside. His hair was wet and stuck to his forehead, and he was dressed loosely, comfortably.

He came up behind me, and took my hair out from between my chair and back, and began to brush it.

"You've been in here for a week. Don't you want to come out? You look miserable."

I sighed. "Maybe it's because I am."

"Did I mention how sorry I am about what happened?" he asked, looking at me through the mirror in front of me. I looked away before I could see the expression on his face. I had made a mistake of looking at it before, and it had only brought me to endless tears.

I nodded. "You have – several times. I believe you now. Isn't that enough?"

He frowned. "No, Serena- I mean Serenity," he coughed. "I want you to enjoy your time here."

"How can I enjoy it while knowing that my aunt is stuck with a murderer?"

He shrugged. "Willowing in agony isn't going to help her now, is it?"

"I'm mourning. It's what people do."

"Your aunt isn't dead, so why would you be?"

I didn't say anything, because I didn't want to be the one who spoke aloud the possibility.

I looked up at myself. "It just makes me so mad! I can't do anything, and she's the only family I've got. She helped me when I was in trouble, and here I am sitting in my room while she's…" My eyes flashed red, most likely a trick of light, but it made me jump all the same.

Endymion flinched. "Did you see…?"

He stared at me, confused. "What?"

I shifted my gaze away from the mirror. "Nothing. Amy said that you did some things you regret. Care to share?"

He stopped brushing my hair, and when I looked at him, I wished I could have taken the words back.

"Why don't you want to tell me? You always avoid the question."

"Because, Serenity, it's not about you. Even though I do think you deserve to know, I just can't talk about it to you yet."

"Is it because you don't know me well? Is that why?"

His grip tightened on the handle of my brush. "Not at all."

"Well, then, why?"

"Because… Could you drop it?"

"No, why won't you tell me?"

"Serenity-"

"Tell me! Please! You said so yourself, I deserve to know. I've been thinking about it, and every time I talk to someone, it seems that all my problems seem to lead to you and your story."

He didn't respond, and I didn't bother to push it again. He began to brush my hair again, and I continued to look at myself in the mirror.

"By the way, do you know where the envelope from my aunt went?"

"I thought you had it," he said, his eyebrows knotting together. "You said you read it, right?"

"Yes," I said, "But I put it somewhere and now I can't find it. I know it was on a table in here… I've checked every flat surface and hiding spot I could think of."

"Was anyone else in here?" he asked, running his fingers through a tangled knot in my hair.

"No one but the maid."

"What… maid?" he asked, his brush strokes stopping instantly.

"Well, the maid that you told to clean my room a week ago," I said, turning to face him.

"I didn't assign a maid to your room ever, Serenity, except for the one who came in to draw your bath your first day here."

"What? Yes you did, she had black hair and-"

"Serenity?"

"Yes?"

"Did you leave this… maid… alone in the room?"

I nodded. "I went to walk around, and then I found that weird sun room."

"How could she have come in, though…? Did you let her?"

"What?"

"This room is rigged so that only certain people can enter, unless you or I give them a signal to do so. Did you let her in?"

I furred my brow. "I must have, I suppose…"

He sighed. "I don't think you'll be finding that note again, Serenity."

"You mean she stole it?"

"Most likely. I'm going to go get someone to check everything out. Go out and socialize with the girls and Frost. They're worried, you know."

He left my room, not even bothering to explain.

The only problem was that I didn't feel like socializing at all. It didn't feel right.

Then there was a knock on my door again. I almost jumped out of my skin. I got up and opened the door, peering out. "Mina?" I asked, surprised. I had expected it to be Endymion again, and was ready to lash out at him.

"Hey, hey!" she greeted, entering the room past me. "We feel neglected, and so we all decided to kidnap you on a shopping spree you promised me a few years ago."

I was stunned. "We?"

"Amy, Lita, Ray, Frost, and myself. Today. Right now."

I sighed and went back to my desk. "I don't know, Mina… I just don't feel like shopping today."

"I've been waiting for years to go shopping! We still even look alike, so anything that looks hot on you will still be hot on me. If you keep putting it off, I might never get this chance again! Come on, _please_?"

I pursed my lips. "Do I have to go?"

"Yes," she said, nodding her head determinedly. "And you are required to enjoy it."

I tapped my fingers against the surface of my brush. "I don't know, Mina, I just don't feel like it…"

"Look, Serenity," she said, turning my chair to face her, "you've been cooped up in this room for a week. How is this going to help your aunt?"

"That's not the point-"

"Answer me. How is this going to help your aunt?"

I frowned.

"I will take that as an 'it will not'. In that case, wouldn't you feel better using your time more productively? Besides, how do you know that we won't, for some odd reason, find one of his evil plans in the making? He's bound to be looking for you, and the town's a great place to start!"

"Yeah, that makes me feel better."

"Serenity… please come?"

I gripped my brush in a tight grip. "Will you all leave me alone if I do?"

"Not a chance."

"Then I won't."

"I think that you'd find that you have no option."

"What do you mean?"

She smiled wickedly. "Girls!"

Right then, the door opened and Lita and Ray entered, picked me up by the elbows, and began to drag me out.

"What? Hey! Stop this! I'm not a toy! Put me down!"

"Not unless you'll come willingly. We will drag you through town like this unless you cooperate," Ray sang.

I struggled for another moment before I gave up. "Fine. Just put me down, then!"

They set me down and I brushed away the wrinkles in my dress and humphed. "You are all pure evil."

I went to my desk and grabbed a few clips, pulling my hair back, and securing it with them. Then I came out of my room.

We met up with Amy and Frost outside, Amy holding a basket packed with food. "We were also thinking of going on a picnic afterwards," she said, her smile almost mischievous. Frost peered out from behind Amy's blue hair, almost invisible, and gave me thumbs up.

"I want to ride with Serena!" she announced.

I picked her up and placed her on my shoulder, and she giggled excitedly.

The girls took me out to town, which was surprisingly close to the castle. Mina instantly dragged me into the first boutique she spotted, and made me try on a few of their necklaces. There was one she particularly liked, that had two people in an embrace inside of what looked like a glass bubble, or balloon.

"Bubble," she insisted. "It obviously symbolizes dangerous freedom. Just when you think you're at your strongest, at your tallest, the bubble pops, and everything you've ever loved or held dear, everything that you've gotten used to… it all falls apart and you have to start all over."

Her whispered description sent chills down my spine, and made the hairs on my neck stand on end. I rubbed the goose bumps on my arms until they mostly faded.

"Hey, you ok?" Frost asked, putting her cool hand on my neck.

I nodded, slowly, so not to disturb Frost. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You look really pale. You know Mina wouldn't mean anything by what she said, don't you? I mean, she's just trying to convince herself to buy it."

I laughed. Frost was right, and I didn't know why I had suddenly freaked like I did.

"Alright, I got it! Off to the next store. Come on, Serenity, I know the best little stand that sells amazing bows. You'll love them!"

I let her hook her arm through mine and lead me from the store and down the trail.

"What about the others?" I asked, trying to keep up with her excited pace.

"Oh, Lita found something that looks like a mini-cookbook the size of your fingernail," she said offhandedly. "I don't know why she'd want that, but all of them are trying to make out the small print like their lives depend on it. Especially Amy. 'There's no book I can't read' she said, and this is the best way to prove it. Especially since the writing is in old English. Who makes a cook book in old English?"

I grinned "Really creative elves."

Frost snickered, but Mina just gave me a look. "Really, Serena, one day I'll find the small-cookbook-in-old-English guy, and he'll turn out to be a bum. And when I introduce him to you, I expect an apology."

I should have been watching where Mina was walking, especially since she wasn't. The next thing I knew I was covered in blueberry, staring up at a pretty, horror-struck elf girl who bent over to try and help me.

"Hey! I'm_ so_ sorry! I should have been looking and I- Oh my gosh you're covered in blue! Let me help. I'm so sorry!"

I laughed as she helped me up. "No, no it's my fault. I'm fine, and I smell delicious."

"Yeah, I was going to make a pie out of that." She looked forlorn, and I instantly felt bad about running into her.

"Let me pay you back for this," I gestured to my blueberry covered dress, and took out the coins that Mina had given me.

"No, no, you keep them."

"I insist," I said, holding the coins out to her.

"No, I can't, I-" she had reached out to push the money back at me, and froze as soon as she made contact. Her eyes went blank, and her mouth parted in a prayer.

"Hey, what happened?" Mina asked, watching the girl. "Did you do something?"

"No… ah… hello? Are you alright?"

Mina put a hand on the girl's shoulder, and she instantly came out of it and pulled her hand away as if I'd stung her.

"What? What happened?" Mina asked, watching the girl carefully.

"Her. She's not of this world," the girl whispered.

I shrugged. "Yeah, I know-"

But the girl wasn't finished. "She's a Blood Hound, isn't she? Why doesn't she have the power, though? Something very bad is after her."

Mina gave me a look, and then turned back to the girl. "What did you see?"

"She's at her weakest. She can't trust anyone… except…"

Mina and I looked at each other. That's when Frost's voice murmured in my ear. I had forgotten completely that she was there, and now that she spoke, she scared half the life out of me. "She's having trouble seeing," she said. "Touch her again."

I didn't.

The girl blinked. "He's where she least expects him to be."

"What?" Mina asked. "Who?"

"He. The man bathed in blood."

Then she shook her head and the look was gone, replaced by the gentle look she was giving me now. "I don't want your money. Good day."

As she turned to leave, as if nothing happened, I made a sound that surprised even me.

"What?" she asked, turning back, and annoyed look crossing her delicate features.

"You were saying something before… something about me not trusting anyone except… whom?"

"Oh," she said, her annoyed look replaced by one of confusion. "Well, this may seem strange, but I think I saw the Lord… But it wasn't very clear. It was as if he was mucked up. If I were you, I wouldn't try to figure out his story."

"Why not?"

"Because if you do…" she paused, searching my face. "Because if you do, you'll lose. The outcome might vary, but you will lose. Now, if you excuse me, I shouldn't be talking to you at all. I'd keep from spreading my name around if I were you, hun. There's a lot of history here that you don't want to get caught up in… Not this time around."

She nodded to Mina and walked past me, avoiding my eye. I watched her go until she disappeared from my view amongst all the other elves.

The conversation suddenly caught up with me, and I felt dizzy and nauseous all at the same time.

"Are you ok?" Frost asked, tugging at my hair.

"Serenity?" Mina asked.

That's when I threw up my barely existent breakfast.

"Oh, Serena! Not the shoes!" Mina sighed and took me by the shoulders. "Come on, let's get you someplace you can sit down, and I'll buy you a drink."

I let Mina guide me, but I didn't see where we were going. All I knew was that the conversation with the girl had struck a nerve somewhere.

"Mina… did that girl call me a Bloodhound? As in, that dog?"

"Ah…"

She didn't respond.

"Mina?"

"I'm going to go get the girls. You just relax here under this tree until I get back."

She sat me down and handed me a cold container of what looked like apple juice that she had somehow gotten a hold of, and jogged off.

That same nerve struck again, and I kept the feeling of it there, ringing throughout my body. Thoughts, barely there, pushed at me, but I couldn't form them, as if they were in some sort of other language. But I knew that it was something important that I knew and must've forgotten. I just wasn't sure why they were trying to come to me now.

When the girls found me some ten minutes later, the feeling had passed and all I felt was drained and empty.

"Hey," Lita said, patting my shoulder. "You alright? I hear you chucked bits onto Mina's shoes."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Must've been something I ate."

Ray snorted. "More like something you didn't eat."

Amy, standing awkwardly with the basket of food, peered at me from under her bangs. "Maybe it's a good time for that picnic now? This is a good spot."

"Great idea," Frost said. "I'm starved. Got some shaved ice?"

Amy nodded quietly, and placed the basket down. In no time, we had set up the picnic, and I was munching away at a whole-wheat sandwich of consisting of peanut butter and bits of coconut and nuts.

"This is a peculiar taste," I said after a while of awkward silence.

The girls instantly, excitedly, began chattering about the food, which led to other subjects revolving around cooking, the mini-cookbook that Lita had ended up buying, and the small stand that we were going to go to before I had bumped into the girl.

Which reminded me that no one had commented on my blueberry covered dress.

I decided to let it slide, since Mina had told them about me losing it. She must've had to fill them in on _why_ I had lost it, particularly.

We ended up going there after the picnic, and I had purchased a sweater, since the nights had suddenly gotten chilly and the flimsy night gowns that were provided for me weren't enough to cover me up for when I walked around at night, which I had recently found was quite relaxing.

We headed back after that, ending our day with a very few amount of store-bought merchandise. No one mentioned the incident. Everyone skirted around it.

And for now, I was ok with that.

**TBC**

**_A/N: _**_Alright, so I'm BACK to writing this, and since summer is starting up I'll be on much more to write. :p Happy reading! :p_


	8. When the Night Comes for You

**A/N:** _Ok so I HAVE written a lot... in fact, I'm almost done this other story I've been working on since summer started so that'll be up soon. :p (I hope... :p I just need to finish the last 2-3 chapters or so and it shall be finished!:p) And I know I meant I'll write this, but I got distracted by a song and that turned my inspiration in another direction. Which is good, because it really made me think about what I want for this story, and the morals of the characters. Since I've been able to revisit this, I've gotten to know the direction of this plot more after stepping away from it for a few months... Fingers crossed it gets me somewhere!  
_

_**BY THE WAY!: **Just a thanks to unlockurdestiny for pointing out that it's ELF DAWNED BOOK 2, not 1 on the bottom there. :p My bad... So I'll fix the other two chapters eventually. :p Just bear with me until I do. ^^ Sometimes the copy/paste method does have its drawbacks! :p  
_

**Disclaimer: **_All rights are reserved to Naoko. I do not own Sailor Moon, but the story is all my creation._

**Summery: **_She came once, sucked under the spell of Endymion's eyes. She left, forgetting everything. Now she's back, learning it all over again... but this time, she's running for her life from the beginning._**  
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**_Elf Dawned Book 2: By Chance..._**

**Chapter 7**

You'd think that after having similar nightmares for a few years you'd stop being scared to sleep. You'd think that when you woke up, you wouldn't be sweating from all the emotional effort it took to not scream. You'd think that you would have gotten used to it.

I didn't.

The nightmare still scared me. Now that Aunt Rose was gone, they had something new to plague me about, and this time for good cause. I had a real reason to be scared of the nightmares now more than ever, which made it all the more frightening.

I wonder if anyone knows what it feels like to be so scared out of your mind, you'd want to run, but you just don't know where.

The night after I went out to town, I saw the maid's face in my dream. It melted into _his_ face. He laughed at me for being so foolish, and let the wind carry the envelope to me.

_"Your fault."_

_ "No!"_

_ "Yes…"_

I know I must have screamed. I couldn't have muffled it. But by the time I did, he was gone, and there was nothing.

The door banging open woke me up, and I screamed again, out of fright that he had found me and had come for me. I pulled the covers to me.

"Serenity?"

I shut my eyes and pulled my knees to my face, resting my eyes on my kneecaps. I started to sob, realizing it was only Endymion, and not wanting to deal with him either.

"Serenity? Are you alright?"

I felt the bed give under his weight as he leaned over to run his fingers through my hair.

"What's wrong? I heard you screaming."

I shook my head. No. I didn't want to talk about it.

He sighed, wound his arms around me and pulled me to his chest, rubbing his hands down my arms and back. He whispered sweet nothings into my ear. He was telling me that he was there, that he wouldn't let anyone touch me. It was ironic because he himself was touching me, but it felt good. I listened to him, letting his words calm me down. His voice was like velvet, made out of magical thread, woven with precise decision into a most beautiful blend. I savored every word he said, like nothing else mattered. And at that moment, nothing else did.

I let him calm me. When I was calm, I let him touch me some more because I liked the electricity that ran through my veins, and I liked the tingly feeling in my chest.

He sighed into my ear, his breath warming me.

"Are you alright?"

I nodded, moving back from him.

He leaned back against the foot of the bed, watching me carefully. I instantly missed his warmth, but wouldn't admit it to anyone.

"He's still haunting your dreams, isn't he?"

I frowned. "Still? How do you know he's _still _haunting my dreams?"

He looked away. "Want to get a drink or go outside to the garden?"

"A drink would be nice," I said, looking away and ignoring the fact that he had avoided my question.

He got up and turned away. "I'll be right back. You stay put."

He was at the door when, despite myself, I asked quietly, "Can I come?"

I don't know what got over me. For the last couple of days I couldn't stand being around anyone – especially Endymion. I don't quite know why, but I still didn't trust him. At that moment, all of my weary feelings about him were thrown to the wind.

He seemed to sense this, and nodded his head fast. "Yeah, sure, come. Want me to get you a warm robe or-"

"I'm fine," I said. I got up and grabbed my blanket, pulling it over my shoulders, and tiptoed to him quietly.

He opened the door for me, and I slipped out, careful not to disturb the quiet. The castle at night was like a ghost town, dim and quiet and chilly. The paintings and posters and words on the walls added more to the creep scale when in the morning, they made the castle look cozy.

We walked down the hall in silence, him leading, me following. That's when I saw his right hand, covered in a white bandage stained in a coppery red.

"Did something happen?" I asked, stopping. He turned to look at me, confused, and I gently picked up his hand and held it between us as a response.

He smiled uncomfortably. "We had… a mild disturbance. We fixed it, if you're worried, but I got my hand cut up pretty badly. It's no big deal, though. I'm going to go see Amy's dad for it later tomorrow."

"What happened?" I asked. For the first time since we came here, I looked him straight in the eyes. He blinked a couple of times, but then stopped and stared into mine, too.

"N-nothing big… Like I said, a mild disturbance," his eyes cast away from my eyes to look at our hands, mine still holding his. I let go, and he let his hand fall to his side.

"Serenity?"  
I looked up at him.

"I-I… almost hurt you once," he said, and then winced. For a moment, he looked like he didn't believe he said it, and flinched away like I was going to strike him or yell at him. All I did was stare. When he realized that I was just standing there, he took a breath and continued. "I've been thinking about this since this morning. And I figured – you were right. You do have the right to know. But before I say anything, I want you to know that you can trust me. I would never hurt you… I would rather-"

"But you just said you almost hurt me," I cut in, my whisper harsher than I meant it to be in the still air of the castle. It was ironic how he had the most power and strength, but he looked more scared of me, a helpless human girl _he_ kidnapped.

"Yes, but-"

"So you almost hurt me… and you just said you never would."

"I…" he looked away, then back. "You're right. But I would rather die right now than hurt you ever again."

"But-"

"Do you want to know the story or not?" he snapped, his eyes blazing with a fire that quickly settled. He looked slightly feverish, too, which brought me back down from my high quite fast. "I'm sorry," he said, turning away. He began to walk in the same direction we were walking in moments ago. "I just… I can't tell this story unless you listen."

"I can't," I said, not bothering to follow. "I just can't listen to this right now." I was too tired, too emotionally drained to listen to this story. And I kept hearing the girl's voice from earlier today, the one I ran into who said I shouldn't figure out his story. Otherwise I'd lose… I would probably lose my mind if I had to deal with anything more. "Can we talk about this later?"

He turned back to look at me. "There might not be a later."

I hated to admit this, but the truth was that I would rather not know, which surprised even me. I was scared to know, and I did want a sort of fresh start, so to speak, with Endymion, despite my protests. I had been begging him to tell me, but now that he was about to, I realized that I might just be unready for the truth and disaster his words might bring.

He must have seen something in my face, so he nodded and walked back to me. "You deserve to know… I just might not be able to tell that story again." Then, he tilted his head. "Why aren't you wearing the locket?"

I felt around my neck quickly, my heart skipping a beat, before I remembered. "Oh, I took it off in the middle of the night. It kept digging into my skin and I couldn't sleep."

"Well, where is it now?" he asked, his eyebrows furring.

"Under my pillow."

He nodded, thoughtful. "Maybe we should go back and get it?"

I shook my head. "We'll be back there in a few minutes. I'm sure that it can wait."

"But what if someone takes it?"

"No one will take it."

He ran his hands through his hair. "You're right… I've just been on edge lately. Let's get you some water, and then we'll walk back to your room and you can get some rest."

I bit down on my lip. "Actually… I think that I'll just walk around afterwards. I don't think I'm ready to face my dreams yet."

"You're scared?"

I frowned. "Never…well… maybe… Yes."

He smiled. "Must be some dream then. Nothing scares you."

"I wouldn't be so sure," I said, rubbing my finger against my collar bone.

"No… really?"

I grinned, and began to walk again, this time him following.

He got me a cold drink of water from the tap, and I drank it thirstily and then got myself another cup of water. This time I just sipped at the water slowly, feeling the liquid roll on my tongue, savoring its sweet tastelessness.

"Tell me a story," I said, remembering his secret study and the many books within it.

He looked startled for a moment. "What story?"

"I don't know," I sighed. "Something nice."

He thought about it for a minute, and then nodded. "Yes, I have one. I suspect that you would know it, though."  
"I don't care."

And so he told me a story about a human boy who snuck into Elf City and forced the town to slow down their time to keep other humans out. The boy went through a ritual and became an elf, and eventually got a very special job on the Royal Court.

At first I thought Endymion was using "boy" as a poor excuse to disguise my story, especially since I did somehow remember the story itself. But then I realized that even though I knew the story, I did not have any personal connection with it.

But I had a feeling I knew someone who did.

"Andrew…"

Endymion grinned. "Did he tell you about it?"

I shook my head. "Not that I remember. I just… know," I said.

We had begun to drift to my room slowly as Endymion talked, mesmerizing me in his voice. By the time he was done, we were standing right outside my room, my hand on the doorknob, him leaning against the far wall.

He seemed quite interested in watching me all of a sudden. "There may yet be hope for you, Serenity."

I twirled a strand of my hair in between my fingers, watching him. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"I mean exactly as I say. Good night, sweet Serenity."

"Wait!" I said, ignoring the fact that he had just called me sweet.

He stopped, turning back to look at me. "Yes?"

I opened my mouth, and then closed it. In truth, I had nothing more to say to him. I just wanted his company. I suspected it was because I didn't want to go back to my dreams.

"N-nothing. Good night."

He looked at me closely, his face outlining every pore and strand of hair. "Are you alright?"

I nodded. "Yeah…" My gaze drifted to his bleeding hand again, but he pretended to ignore that.

"Goodnight."

I watched him retreat to his room until his door was closed. The dragon's face popped out at me, grotesque, mocking me of my fears of the night.

Pretty spooked, I turned to open my door and go back inside into its safety – though I doubt that it was that much safer, even though I've been told otherwise – when I heard an awful wailing sound.

I stopped, my heart pounding so hard I was sure that anyone around would hear it, and willed myself to breath. The horrible sound had shaken my bones to their core, rose goose bumps. It was a sound of the tortured. It was a mind-shattering cry for help when words couldn't suffice.

It was nothing, I tried to convince myself. The sound didn't return. It was obviously my mind playing tricks on me.

I turned the knob when that wailing started up again, only this time lasting longer, making my heart break.

_Go inside, go inside, goinside_! I chanted in my head, trying to will my fingers to turn the knob faster.

The wailing started up again, this time louder, and louder still, begging me to hurry to it. I turned to look at Endymion's door, expecting it to open and him to come out looking for me, but it remained closed in the darkness, the dragon head still in its horrific pose.

Alright, I though. Someone was in trouble. I was strong. I would handle it… or at least see what was going on so I could call for help.

I turned to look at Endymion's door. I could always ask him to do so instead… he was a warrior, after all, and-

No. His right hand, most likely also his dominant hand, was bleeding badly. I may not trust him completely and utterly, but I didn't want anything to happen to him either. Not until I knew the truth from the lies.

Logic won out. I would go to see what the wailing was on my own.

I followed the sounds, creeping down the hall and holding my blanket tighter around me for comfort. The closer I got, the louder the sounds became. They were awful, really, and made me want to run every time a new round of wails came about, but I stood my ground.

Hurry, hurry, I urged myself. Someone could be dying.

I made my cold feet move faster, quieter, as I wandered down the hall.

I turned the corner and followed the sounds down a dark, fire-lit hallway. Then I stopped at a door, where the wailing was the loudest. My hand shook and I reached for the door handle, not sure at all of what I'd encounter. Horrific images filled my mind and I tried to block them out all the more.

When I finally opened the door the wailing stopped. Any and all sound evaporated, leaving a quiet, peaceful, and therefore very suspicious, room behind.

Cautiously, I entered, unsure of what to expect. I had no weapon. If something attacked me now, I wouldn't be able to protect myself, but like a bad dream, I walked in.

The room was dark and carpeted. Warm. It had white walls made dark by the night and soft red by the flickering fire, and felt very homey. Not a place I'd imagine for a maiming or…

I gulped as my eyes strayed to the fireplace in the middle of the room, spewing fire, and instantly I stopped searching the room for potential enemies. The fire called, sang the siren's song, drawing me towards it. I took the steps willingly, unthinking. The one thing I knew was that I would have fought to get to it if I had to. Killed. The urge to look in was strong, so strong…

I sat down cross legged, and leaned into its heat, searching, searching, for _something_.

Then I saw it.

In the heart of the fire, I saw myself.

I was tied up, trying to shrink into the poll that held me in place as fire tried to devour me. Ferocious flames attacked my body, and I watched. I was flailing in the fire, trying to get away from it, but it was no use. I was the one wailing, making the dreadful sobs. And then I called out Endymion's name, that name holding so much trust and pain that my throat closed up.

As the fire licked the skin in the image, I started to feel the burn. At first, it was nothing, but then it slowly heated my skin until nothing more was left but the numbness.

It was terrifyingly familiar numbness.

_ They did this to you._

The scent of blood wafted my sense of smell, and its metallic taste filled my mouth, repulsive.

I went stiff all over, responding to the voice inside my head. That voice scared me much worse than it did in my dreams. He was one who wanted me dead.

It was somehow worse when I was awake. It made him real.

_ I want to help you. I saved your Aunt from this fate… now I'm going to save you. They're using you… they want you to believe they're on your side. They tried to kill your Aunt Rose, and when it didn't work and I intervened, they decided to show you while they had some evidence of me being there…_

_ No…_

_ Yes. I want to help you. Let me help you. Let me-_

No!

The story made absolute sense, but he had spent too much time in my head at night convincing me to let him kill me, and that seemed to kill the thread of lies he was building now. It was him I was frightened of. And that fear gave me the strength to get onto my wobbly legs and make a run for it. Back the way I came.

The wailing followed me until I closed my bedroom door and fell, sobbing hard for the second time that night.

Endymion didn't come this time.

**TBC**

**_A/N: _**_Well that was interesting... LOL Anyway, sorry I wasn't updating more. Have a happy summer (or what's left of it, anyways :p)._**_  
_**


	9. Amelia

**A/N:**_ This chapter was seriously one heck of a hard thing to write. But I always believe that all good ideas come when waited for. I'm glad I didn't rush it... most of it wrote itself today. It felt great! There's nothing better than a horrible writer's block breaking because of one good idea. Thanks to everyone who's had the patience to wait for it. Speaking of updates, man this place has been updated. Interesting layout, eh? :p Idk, I like it. :p  
_

**Disclaimer: **_All rights are reserved to Naoko. I do not own Sailor Moon, but the story is all my creation._

**Summery: **_She came once, sucked under the spell of Endymion's eyes. She left, forgetting everything. Now she's back, learning it all over again... but this time, she's running for her life from the beginning._**  
**

* * *

**_Elf Dawned Book 2: By Chance..._**

**Chapter 8  
**

The next morning I had finally decided on my plan of action. Forget the past, as the girl in the market had suggested. Forgive and forget, and don't try to remember. All trying to remember had done so far was mess everything up, just as she had told me it would. I was in Elf City, my house ransacked, Aunt Rose missing. Endymion was hurt, I was going crazy, and sneaking around wasn't fun.

The first thing I would do is apologize to Endymion.

I knocked on his door, not really expecting an answer since he was usually out in the mornings, practicing, and so I was surprised when a voice croaked for me to enter.

I opened the door and peered inside curiously, shocked to see that he was still in bed with some breakfast sitting untouched on his nightstand. That's when I remembered his feverish look the night before.

"You look awful," I said, coming in and closing the door soundlessly behind me.

"Thanks," he muttered, rubbing a hand over his forehead. "Did you need something?"

"I- no," I shook my head. "I was here to… say… thanks for last night."

He looked at me from between his fingers, disbelief plain on his face. "Well… you're welcome, Serenity. It was my pleasure."

He looked exhausted and defeated, as if seeing me had tired him out more than anything else. I felt a pang of guilt.

I took a deep breath. "I was also going to apologize for being such a pain."

Silence greeted me as soon as the words were out of my mouth.

"You are?"

I detected some hope laced within his question, and nodded. "I realized I wasn't exactly pleasant to be around, especially since you had done next to nothing wrong as far as I remember…"

He cringed, and I bit my tongue. I was curious, yes, but I had decided not to act on it. And I wouldn't, even if it broke me.

"Apology accepted." He paused. "Come sit with me, Serenity. I hadn't had a chance to talk with you, and now would be the best time, I suppose."

I went hesitantly to him and sat on the edge of the bed. My aunt, if she were here, would disown me. I was in a guy's room, on his bed, with the door closed.

Endymion reached out and pulled me to him, and I lost my balance and fell beside his hot, feverish body. He wrapped his arms hesitantly around me, and gave me a quick look to confirm that it was ok. Surprisingly, I found that it was.

No, she would kill me first, and then bring me back to disown me.

I tried to ignore that pang in my chest. Aunt Rose would be fine. I wouldn't be surprised if she had already whipped the blood-coated demon and returned to the house, baking cupcakes and teaching him to waltz.

"You ok?"

I nodded, his voice bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Then why are you crying?"

Crying? I reached up to touch my cheeks, finding moisture there. I _had_ been crying. "It's nothing."

"If it made you cry, it's not nothing to you," he whispered, pulling the hair that fell onto my face back and running his hands through it. "Tell me. I might not be your best friend right now, but I would love to be…"

I managed a smile. I just couldn't shake of this poor, miserable woe-is-me façade, it seemed. "I'm just worried about my aunt, is all."

He smiled encouragingly. "You know we'll find her, right, Serenity? We're doing the best we can, and we don't have very many leads. But now that he has your aunt, we might be able to find him. Or he will find us. In any sense, he wants you, and now that he has your aunt, he has something to draw you to him. He won't kill her off if she serves him a purpose."

"Are you sure?" I asked. For the first time in what seemed like a long time, I felt hope that my aunt was indeed all right.

"Positive."

"Thanks, Endymion."

He closed his eyes, his thumb making circles where it rested on my hip. "Are you wearing your necklace?"

My hand reached up protectively for it. "Yeah, I am. I don't see how this protects me, but I'll take your word for it."

He sighed, a smile playing on his lips. "Go have breakfast, Serenity. I'll be here all day if you need me."

"But-"

"Go. You need some breakfast."

When I moved to get up reluctantly, his arm didn't release me. I tried to get up again, but ended up bouncing back onto him. "Endymion-"

"Yeah, I know. It's just so hard to let go of you," he mumbled into my hair, making goose bumps stand up on my arms and warmth flood to my cheeks.

"I could stay here…"

"No, no, you should go."

He released his grip on me slowly, and as I started to get up he trailed is hand across my back and caught my hand, entwining our fingers together and looking at them. Then he gently let them go and closed his eyes again, a smile playing on his lips.

I walked self-consciously to the door and turned back once, to see him watching me. I smiled at him and walked out, only to bump into a maid. "Oh!" I cried, catching her towels as they began to fall, "Sorry."

She nodded her head and readjusted the towels with one hand while holding the pile with the other, then walked past me into his room.

"Would you like me to draw you a bath?"

"Yes, ma'am."

The door closed and I couldn't hear anymore.

I ate breakfast with the girls. We had some amazing pancakes topped with blueberries, and some bacon, which they swooned about. Apparently bacon is rare for them. I wondered how they'd feel about sausages.

I didn't go to Endymion's room after breakfast. Instead I went down a few halls and into the closet with the sun button and the secret room. I pressed the button, shut the door behind me, and entered the room.

It hadn't changed much since the last time I was there. The desk was tidy now; my guess being that Endymion had finished sewing the book together.

The intricate sun symbol in the middle shone brightly from the actual sun streaming through the window. There were also books scattered at the base of one of the shelves, and a dust sweeper was placed where the books had once stood. There was also a new picture on the wall, but I wasn't sure which one was new since I had only seen the wall-art once. I could just tell there was a new one because there used to be a space where there wasn't, and all the pictures had been moved.

I went to the book case and started going through the books, looking for the mostly-blank one that had secret messages in it, but it wasn't there. I found the Bloodhound book easy enough, though. I leafed through that one for a few minutes, and then put it back. With one last glance, I left. The book wasn't there, so I had no reason of being there either. I wondered, not for the first time, if I had hallucinated the book up from the sheer fright of everything that had happened.

As I made my way to find Endymion, I passed by a strange man with silver hair that matched his eyes. He was wearing a white robe that reached the floor, speckled with various odd signs. One of his sleeves was propped up to his elbow, where he was examining one of the many various tattoos on his arm, running up and under the sleeve. The artwork on his skin was so elaborate and smashed together that one turned into another and warbled into a mess.

It was as I was staring at him that his eyes lifted and met mine, and a metallic smell filled the air, thick and needy. His eyes were empty sapphire. _Dead_, I realized. He smiled.

My blood ran cold and I turned and ran like a skittish mouse down the hall. It wasn't before I turned the corner that I looked back, but he was gone. There was nothing in the space where he had been. I couldn't help wondering if it was a trick of light.

"I've checked and double checked, your highness, but the only footage I have is Serenity walking down the hall."

"And you're sure you have the right hall?"

The burly man with a long beard nodded. "See, here? She's walking out of your room, down this hall, and into the broom closet. A few minutes afterwards, she's walking back down this hall, and she stops, and then continues walking until she reaches your room. Here she walks into your room, and the rest I believe you know."

"That doesn't make sense!" I cried, elbowing past him to play the footage again. "I swear I was running down this hall because the guy – he was there!"

I felt two strong hands grab my shoulders and push me back until I fell into the hard wall that was Endymion's chest. "Shh, it's alright. Here, see, we believe you." To the guard he said, "Could this creature manipulate the footage?"

He shrugged. "I don't believe so. You see, cameras are a sort of mirror. Light goes through them to produce a real image. There is no way of bending the light when it's entered the camera. It's possible that he manipulated her mind, though. Bending light on a live object is a lot easier, because the brain follows light rays as it would see logically continued. If he tricked her brain into following a different set of light rays… well, that could very well have shown her a different set of images than we see here."

"In other words, brain washing?" Endymion inquired.

"But I ran. The video shows that I walked."

The guard shrugged. "Manipulation can make things seem a lot different than they are."

"But running has nothing to do with light-"

"Yes, yes it doesn't. It's more of an action… We need to look into this." The guard looked exhaustedly at the screen. I could see the wheels in his head spinning, trying to find the missing pieces of a puzzle he might never solve.

Endymion's thumb started to distractedly rub my arm where it rested. "It's alright, you can take a break. Report to me if you have found anything."

"Yes, my lord. I will."

When we left the small conference room, I tugged on his arm. He stopped and turned back to me. "We'll figure out what happened, Serenity."

I nodded. "Yes, and I just thought of something. I was in town yesterday with Mina and the girls and I ran into this girl… she read my future, I think…"

"A fortune teller?"

"An elf."

Endymion's eyebrows furred as he considered the possibilities. "Well, I reckon you're talking about Amelia, but I thought she was an empath. I suppose her gift could have grown, to be able to see that much farther into the realms."

"I think we should pay her a visit today, if you know where she lives. She might be able to help us."

He nodded, a smile forming. "Yes, it might give us some perspective… Go get yourself ready, I have to take care of a small thing first. I'll meet you at the front."

Ten minutes later I was sitting on the steps at the doors, waiting for Endymion to show up. It was a nice day, very breezy. If there were plants in this area, they would have been open and singing. But there was sand and sand and more sand everywhere. These odd green leaves stuck out in some places, and I somehow knew they were mint leaves. _Odd_, I thought. _Mint leaves growing in sand…_ Well, perhaps it's possible…

"Ready to go?"

I turned around and saw Endymion coming down the stairs, a bundled cloth in his hands. I raised my eyebrows.

"If we're going to include some innocent person into this battle, it'd be rude not to bring a gift." He unwrapped the cloth and inside there was a crystal globe. "It's a seeing globe. I remember getting one for my birthday one year but since I'm not fortune telling, this would much better serve Amelia. Ready to go?"

I nodded.

Amelia's house, or, I guess, cottage, was close to the castle, about a ten minute walk. There was a nice garden out front that had lots of bright flowers. It was strange to suddenly see color when you've walked so far in sand.

"Amelia's brother, if I remember, had a gift directly linked to flora."

I nodded, and we both walked to the front door. Endymion knocked.

"You think she'd help us?"

"How can she say no to me?"

I shook my head at him with a grin. "Just because you rule this place doesn't mean she'll help."

"I was referring to my charming good looks and attitude."

He knocked on the door again.

We stood out there long enough for it to get awkward before Endymion turned to me. "Maybe she's not in."

I stepped off the porch and walked to a nearby window. "The lights are on. I think this is the bedroom-" my voice caught.

"What's up?" He walked up behind me.

"Is she sleeping?"

He looked over my head inside the bedroom. Then he knocked on the glass several times. When the girl I recognized from the day before didn't so much as stir. Endymion moved away and started looking around the yard.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to find something to break the window."

"What?" I said, shocked. "You can't do that! It's her house-"

"Serenity, I can replace the window. But I don't think Amelia is alright."

I froze in my spot, and watched as he picked up a giant rock from around the bed of the garden and threw it at the window. Glass shattered everywhere and Endymion grabbed another rock, using that one to smooth the edges before climbing through the window. I looked around, worried that the neighbors might see, but then realized I was with the Lord. I quickly followed him inside.

"Is she-" I stopped talking, partly due to the smell, and partly because of what I saw. She was lying there, and from one side she looked perfectly normal. On the other side, she was missing an arm. Her clothes were tattered, and underneath them were what looked like bite marks. She had so many of them, you wouldn't have been able to tell who she was if the other half was the same. She was mostly rotted, although I'm not sure how…

I turned around to look at something, anything, and ended up looking at her hand, three fingers missing, holding a jar of a pair of eyes. A note on the jar said: _She won't be seeing the future now, will she?_

I jumped when something touched my shoulder, but it was only Endymion. "Alright, stay calm. Let's get out of here. I'll call some people to clean this up and give her a burial." I nodded, because if I spoke I'd probably puke.

He steered me towards the front door and we were walking towards it when I heard a crunch. He and I looked down to see a finger.

I think I fainted, I'm not sure, but I don't remember getting out of the house or walking back to the palace. I woke up after a dreamless sleep, for the first time, but covered in cold sweat. I got out of bed and went to my dresser, looking at myself in the mirror. I didn't resemble the me that I knew. My hair was knotted and stringy; I had bags under my eyes. I was torn and worn, but not defeated, I realized. The more this thing provoked me, the madder I got. I wanted to fight it, before it got more people I love, or killed the ones that tried to help me or had the potential to. But what was I supposed to do?

I remember Amelia saying something about me not having the power anymore. I was weak.

That had to change. Whatever power I had somehow lost, it was time to get it back.

I went to my drawer and took out some scissors on a whim. I walked back to the mirror and grabbed a handful of locks, then chopped them off at the waist. For a minute, I just looked at the hair in my hands in shock, not believing I had actually done that. But for once, my mind was completely blank. There was a small buzzing where my thoughts usually swam, an eerie blankness. My hair would grow out again, but for now, it was only annoying me. I cut the rest of my hair, lock by lock. When I was done, I stepped out of the mass of hair and looked at myself. It looked awful. It was long on one side, short on another. If only my Aunt Rose could see me now… she loved brushing my long hair in the mornings. Humming meanwhile, telling me funny stories…

I felt empty. The hair in front of me wasn't my hair… it was something else now. It wasn't mine. _My_ hair was now tickling my elbows, making my head light, not tangling in my dress. It looked awful, dreadful… unladylike. I took the scissors and put them on my locks again, only this time at the shoulder, but I couldn't do it. How easy it would be, just to cut that one lock, and the rest would have to follow… just snap my fingers together.

I put the scissors away and collected the hair on the floor. Then I went and took a shower, washing my hair with a lot less shampoo, taking much faster than usual. I came out and brushed it out, donned a new dress, and picked up my cape.

Amelia was a psychic. She would have seen her own end, would she not have? It wouldn't hurt to go and see if she'd left anything that might help us.

I was walking down the hallway when I heard a small voice call my name.

"Frost?"

"Where are you going?"

I smiled. "On a mission. Want to come?"

Her smile was all the answer I needed.

I placed her on my shoulder, and opened the doors.

**TBC**

**_A/N: _**_Worth the wait, you think? Hopefully the inspiration keeps coming. Fingers crossed!_**_  
_**


	10. The Boy With The Knife At His Throat

**A/N:**_ I thought I would sit down and write for a few minutes. Maybe five. Ended up writing for a good 3 hours. Once I started, the chapter wrote itself. XD So, enjoy! And thanks for all your support.  
_

**Disclaimer: **_All rights are reserved to Naoko. I do not own Sailor Moon, but the story is all my creation._

**Summery: **_She came once, sucked under the spell of Endymion's eyes. She left, forgetting everything. Now she's back, learning it all over again... but this time, she's running for her life from the beginning._**  
**

* * *

**_Elf Dawned Book 2: By Chance..._**

**Chapter 9  
**

The door to Amelia's cottage opened up slowly to reveal everything as we had left it. The door handle was broken, from Endymion twisting the knob to get us out, I assumed. I heard Frost breathing deeply, and I closed my eyes to take a few minutes to remind myself to breath as well.

I took a few steps and rounded the corner into her bedroom where her torn up body still lay. The smell was worse, if it was possible, and I felt my gag reflex acting up.

I wasn't the only one.

"Oh my Lord… that poor girl," Frost murmured. She pressed her face against my hair and let out a sob.

I felt like sobbing myself. "It's okay, Frost. We can't do anything for her now. But hopefully she'd have done something for us. We need to see if she might have foreseen a clue… whoever did this wouldn't kill her without a reason."

"What if he took it?"

I had my doubts too. Obviously he would have torn the place apart if he were looking for something she hid, and since everything looked mostly in place, it was either a short search, she told him before he killed her, or she died because he knew she could help them, in theory.

"Do you see anything?" I whispered.

Frost murmured, "Besides the obvious?"

I ran my hand across the table where her eyes sat in a jar. This was where he wanted our attention. So maybe it was because it distracted from whatever she might have left behind. I said so to Frost.

She nodded in agreement. "Maybe it's under the mattress?"

I looked to where Amelia lay. "Why would you think that?"

She shrugged. "Bring attention to something far enough away, but hide whatever it is in plain, obvious sight?"

It made sense. But I couldn't do it… she was lying in her bed, looking ragged and scary. Just a day ago I had watched her fumble with her basket as she stared regretfully at the fruit she had lost. She wanted to make pie. Now she lay cold, murdered in her own home. It was my entire fault.

I walked towards the bed, breathing through my mouth, and knelt down next to Amelia. "I'm sorry," I whispered as I lifted the first mattress and dug under it. I went all the way around until I felt a tiny slip of paper. I pulled it out and looked at it. It was an empty, torn triangle that had the last part of a sentence written on it in neat script. It said '_-up your blood'_ .

I turned the tiny strip over, but it said nothing else. Whatever she might have left for us, someone else had gotten here first. I put the slip of paper in my dress pocket.

I was about to dig under the mattress in hopes of finding something else when I heard the door creak open and some footsteps heading towards the room.

Hastily, I slipped into her closet and shut the door, just as someone entered. Suddenly, my breathing seemed too loud, and the light that fell through the cracks was too bright.

I got to the floor and tried to peer out from underneath the door. I could see a shadow, and the footfalls sounded heavy. They crept to the desk, and then to her bed. Then I heard a male voice curse, and the creaking of the mattress. I sighed. It was a good thing I had come in here first. We weren't the only ones that made the assumption.

I got up and pressed against the wall, hoping he'd leave.

There was another squeak of the door, and at first I thought he had left, but the footsteps led towards the room and the man that had been searching the mattress flung himself at the closet door. Light flooded my vision as he stepped in, saw me, looked back, and closed the door. I only got a slight look at him, but I knew him instantly. It was that man in the hallway with the tattoos. But he had none this time, and he didn't smell like blood. His eyes were warmer. But he was the same guy. I opened my mouth to scream. In a second, his hand was on my face and he had a knife at my throat.

"Do you want to get us killed?" he murmured into my ear. "I'm gonna take my hand off, only because I know you'll struggle and make noise. If I do, do you promise not to scream, kick, or move?"

I nodded mutely.

He let go and pulled the knife from my throat.

"Okay, there she is. Take her out boys."

I pulled my attention to the man that was in the room. Soon, I heard more footsteps, and I knew it must be the team Endymion had sent. I didn't want him to know I was here, but at the same time these men might save me from the guy who possibly murdered Amelia.

With that thought I reached for the door knob, and in a flash he had me in a corner. I opened my mouth to scream, but his mouth fell on top of mine. His lips were dry and he tasted of mud. Him kissing me sent a chill through my spine – and not a pleasant one. I tried to push him off, but he was a wall of stone. I was about to make my knee connect with his groin when suddenly he was stumbling away and holding his cheek, letting out some more curses in a whisper. It was then I realized that Frost must have bit him.

I wiped my mouth with my hand, still tasting the mud.

"Only Endy gets to kiss Serena!" I heard her hushed yell at him.

He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and rubbed his cheek with his other hand. "She was going to scream. And Endy? As in Endymion? As in she is the girl I've been hiding from?"

I glared at him. "What do you mean you've been hiding from me? I saw you!"

He looked at me, his eyes wild. "What? Where?"

"Other than here, you mean?" I raised my eyebrows and he shrunk into a corner of the closet. "At the palace."

He stared at me like I was nuts. "Why would I be at the palace if I was hiding from you?"

Footsteps that drew closer to the closet stopped our speech. We waited with bated breaths, me unsure of why I was scared to just open the door and leave, until whoever it was out there left. I heard him call to whoever else was there that now that they had the body they'd come back to clean the place out later.

When the door creaked closed, the guy flung open the door and bolted out.

"Oh no you don't," I murmured. I chased him, and when I was close enough, I jumped on top of his back, my momentum bringing him to the ground.

"Please, leave me alone!" he said, trying to squirm out.

"Uh, no." I grabbed the knife from his belt and brought it to his neck. He instantly stopped squirming. I heard Frost exhale, and wondered vaguely how she hadn't fallen off.

He was staring at me with frightened eyes, and since I had him I took the time to look him over. He had the same white hair, and the same clothes that he wore at the palace. When I searched his arms, he had no tattoos.

"Who are you? And why are you hiding from me?"

He stayed quiet, so I pressed the blade deeper into his flesh. I knew I cut him a bit because I heard him gulp. "You wouldn't kill me."

"And why not?"

"Because you want answers only I have."

I pressed the knife farther into his throat, all the while feeling like puking. His blood was flowing onto my fingers, warm and metallic. "What makes you think I want answers all that badly? You seemed like a threat at the palace, my life is in jeopardy, and my aunt is gone. Frankly, I'm kind of tired of playing the princess waiting to be rescued."

His eyes narrowed. "So do it. Kill me. It won't solve your problem. He's not me. He'll come. He always comes."

I felt Frost slowly climbing down my hair from the back.

"Who is 'he'?" I asked.

A few seconds ticked by as we stared at each other. Even though I had the upper hand, it didn't feel like it. He didn't think I would do it. But finally, he relaxed underneath me and rolled his eyes up to the sky. "You are in way over your head, little girl. This isn't Aunty Beryl coming after you. This is the real deal."

I scoffed at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, that's right. Lover boy took away your memory, and eye girl told you not to probe. Let me clear things up. You-"

"No!" I cut him off. "Don't tell me."

"I thought you wanted answers." He was mocking me.

I growled at him. "Not those. I want to know who you are and why you're hiding from me. And I want to know who 'he' is."

"I would tell you," he said, "but that knife is giving me a hard time speaking."

I shrugged. "It'll be harder to speak with your head cut off. Now tell me what you know."

He sighed. "My name is Amethyst. Thyst for short. I'm hiding from you because He saw you. He is your greatest nightmare."

It was me who rolled my eyes this time. I saw Frost come in behind him and in one fluid motion she grabbed onto his white hair and pulled. "Tell us what you know!"

I resisted the urge to laugh when I saw his annoyed expression. "Who are you? You bite me and pull my hair, what did I do to you?"

She pulled his hair again. "I'm on her side."

"Oh." He sighed. "Alright. Alright! So I got into a little trouble with some demons from my – and your - world, and they put a little curse on me. I tried to get rid of the curse by asking some gypsies, who only spited me and made it worse. They didn't imagine what would happen when the two curses clashed. It had never been done. I was stupid. I knew the gypsies cursed us, but the spell was driving me mad! I thought they could help. Now He is part of me, and He's blood thirsty. Literally. I came here to get your help, but I realized too late you didn't know anything. Then He saw you and realized what you were, and then you lost your memories and now He's after you. He thought you were with your Aunt so He attacked, realized you weren't and… He did something…"

I stared at Thyst beneath me. He was staring at me with a cold fright that I recognized from the image of myself in the mirror every day. I took the knife off. "You have to come with me. Endymion will help you."

"No!" he said, staring at me with wide eyes. His hand held the cut at his throat closed. "He can't get you. He got everyone else. If He gets you then your world will die! You are _The_ Princess Serenity. You can stop Him, but not if you're dead." He spoke dramatically. Every name and title sounded with importance from his tone.

I was shocked, and trying to figure out how to convince him to come with me. We couldn't just leave him alone...

He took my shock as a cue to exit, pushing me off him and running away. I was going to go after him but realized I wouldn't be so lucky this time. And I also realized, too late, what he might have meant when he said that… He… did something to Aunt Rose…

Frost looked at me. "We have to tell Endy…"

I nodded.

"We have to finish searching the place though…"

Frost gave me a look. "We found all that we were going to find. She left something, and now it's gone. We have a piece of it…Endymion will know what to do with it."

I stared back at the house, but knew she was right. We weren't as lucky as we could be, but lucky enough.

"But wouldn't she have known we wouldn't get the-"

"Serena."

I sighed and took out the note.

_-up your blood_, it said. As in, 'give up'? Or 'throw up'? Or 'drink up'…?

I grimaced. I didn't like any of those.

When we finally got back to the castle, I quickly went to look for Endymion. He wasn't in his room, and he wasn't in the Kitchen.

I went to his secret room. He wasn't there either.

I was about to go into the training room when I bumped into him. He was in his armor, and he looked better than had before. Not even a trace of a cold that I had seen when we first went to visit Amelia.

"Endymion, we've got something important to tell you."

"Me, too!" he said, smiling.

"What?"

"We're going to the Bon Fire!"

I raised my eyebrows. "Endymion, me and Frost found something related to the case. It's important."

He nodded. "That's wonderful! Let's save it for after. Tonight we enjoy."

"Endymion, I really don't think that's a good idea," Frost said. I was surprised to hear her say his full name, but I knew the effect she intended to make.

He didn't seem to get the hint. "Ladies, I understand. But it's been a long week for all of us. Things are always going bump in the night, and I know you're tired of it. Tonight, we'll talk. But first, we will have a few drinks of ale, and enjoy the celebrations. Serenity, I think it's time to show your face again. I know I said you should be discreet, but," he took me by the shoulders, "this will be fun. I promise."

I didn't like the idea. Neither did Frost. But from the look of Endymion, I knew he wasn't doing this for us, mostly. He was doing it for himself. _He_ was tired of things going bump in the night.

So I agreed.

Before he let me go, he brought me to him and kissed my cheek. Then he turned me around and ran his hands through my hair. "What did you do?"

I smiled. "I just thought it would get in the way. My hair was getting torn up anyway. I didn't have time to brush it out fully like I usually do."

He nodded and released me. "I like it. You look beautiful any way."

I smiled, and turned to leave. I would need to wash up. I had gotten mud and dirt all over myself. Not to mention blood.

Frost scolded me while I took a bath, and then helped me pick out a dancing dress. I brushed my hair, moisturized my skin with my nutrients, and then picked out some lace to tie into my hair with to keep it out of the way.

I met up with the gang outside, the last to arrive. They were all excited, clutching their dates.

Amy smiled at me in approval. "You hair. What did you do? It looks great."

Mina cocked her head. "A little choppy, though…"

Lita elbowed her. Nephrite was holding her arm in his, interlocked, but his eyes were on me. And when I said on me, I meant _on me. _It was as if he were seeing something else that no one else was.

I looked away, uncomfortable.

Endymion stepped up beside me and took my hand. I smiled at him and he led us to the carriage. There were guards all around who held on to the carriage, and I assumed they were to walk this thing to wherever it is we were going.

We all piled into the carriage.

The entire ride, I was aware of Nephrite and the way his stare bore into me. The ride was long enough for it to sink in.

When we got there, I recognized the place as the one where we took the secret path back to my world. Today it was crowded with elves who danced by the bon fire. The girls and their soldiers left the carriage to join the crazy dance rhythm. It was absolutely magical. The drums held the beat while everybody else kept it alive. There were elves by the fire, and elves dancing. Some guys were doing flips and spins, trying to impress the girls who seemed very impressed, but you could tell they'd seen it all. It was one big flirting game, and I liked it. Chemistry and electricity was flying in the air… it was contagious.

Endymion smiled at me. "You ready?"

I nodded. When I got out, however, the drums faltered. Whoever was playing them had definitely noticed us, and the missed step in the beat caused everyone to turn to me.

There was suddenly a dull silence, only interrupted by the cackling of the fire and the last few bangs of the drum before they, too, stopped.

Endymion got out behind me. "It's alright," he called.

"Traitor!" Someone called from the crowd. There was a rouse of agreement. "Filth!" and "Dirty Bloodhound!" were also belted a few times.

I shrunk back into the carriage as Endymion shielded me with his body. "Hey! I said it's alright! We are forgiving folk. Serenity came here tonight to share the fire and join in the fun. What happened was a mistake. Start the drums up again, please."

When there was silence, he glared at the drummer. He nodded, grabbed his drum, and began a new beat.

Ruefully, the elves began to go back to their business. I saw a nice ally and inched towards it.

Endymion caught my arm. "Where are you going?"

"I just need to get my bearings. I'm gonna sit by that wall." I pointed to the wall.

He nodded. "You always liked that wall. Go ahead, you're safe."

I ignored his comment about the wall and went to sit by it anyway. When I sat down, I realized that I was staring at something I had seen before. It was a familiar angle. I cocked my head, trying to see what I somehow couldn't. The fire playing on the sand as bare feet danced across it, celebrating…

I settled for just watching Endymion. He was dancing with some men close to the fire. He was the most impressive. He had unbuttoned his shirt and I watched as he flipped in the air, smiling. The draining dance seemed to give him energy. He was graceful, and I loved watching the fire play on his muscles. I loved the added fire in general. It made everything look more untamed, heated and erotically sensual.

I felt eyes on me, and when I turned, I saw Nephrite was still watching me, even as he led Lita in a winding circles. If she noticed, she didn't let on.

I realized that I was going to have to talk to him. But not now. Endymion had said that we needed to enjoy right now, and it might be the only time that we would. I didn't know what was coming, or when it was coming, but I knew that we had right now and that was what mattered.

Strangely, I felt completely content to just watch. It was as if I had done this many times before, and it still seemed to bring a smile to my face.

Ray and Jadeite danced their way towards me.

"Hey champ," she said. "Wanna join?"

I shook my head.

Jadeite seemed happy either way. His attention was all on her, leading her in twirling circles. He whispered something in her ear as they danced away.

My eyes found Endymion again, and he was watching me. But he didn't come to me, instead sharing a meaningful smile with me that I could and couldn't figure out.

It seemed as if my past was chasing me today. More so than usual.

I pressed my eyes closed and leaned back, enjoying the beat that matched my own heart.

**TBC**

**_A/N: _**_Worth the wait, you think? Hopefully the inspiration keeps coming. Fingers crossed!_**_  
_**


	11. The Soul Holder

**A/N:**_ If you've read my stories, you know my insane love to play with my characters and squeeze all hope from them. You also know that I enjoy playing with POVs. I know this chapter is waaayy short, but it's important enough that I don't expect to be tomatoed. :p Enjoy! Ooh, and before I forget - I'm almost at 100 reviews! I didn't think I'd come close, but I'm way grateful. Thanks for all your support!  
_

**Disclaimer: **_All rights are reserved to Naoko. I do not own Sailor Moon, but the story is all my creation._

**Summery: **_She came once, sucked under the spell of Endymion's eyes. She left, forgetting everything. Now she's back, learning it all over again... but this time, she's running for her life from the beginning._**  
**

* * *

**_Elf Dawned Book 2: By Chance..._**

**Chapter 10  
**

_That Same Night…_

He saw her. He knew who she was before I had. I was a fool, I should have known-

_Silence!_

I tripped over a branch of an old tree and landed face-first on the dry forest ground. Before I could get control of my bearings, I was standing up and throwing myself at a tree. I hit the mark hard enough to break my lip. I tasted blood.

How had he found her?

_I said silence you worthless traitor!_

I was flung against another tree. A sickening crack sounded at the same time that I felt the blinding pain in my arm. I made my mind go blank.

_Good boy. Now tell me… why have you let our goal go?_

"She's your enemy, not mine!"

My head knocked against the ground so hard I saw stars. Then I couldn't breathe. I kept trying to get my lungs to work, but they refused. That and the blinding white pain in my head made me nauseous. This was the end. _Please_ let it be the end. I opened my mouth, struggling to get some oxygen in, and when I thought I was finally going to pass out my lungs began to work and I started gasping for air. I took in ragged gulps and tried to stand up. I fell against the dirt again.

_Wrong answer. And not only that, you didn't find the part of the script that _you_ ripped off in your hurry to get out._

"It was a mistake-"

_Shut up!_

My stomach slowly began to tear open, bleeding out while I lay gasping in pain.

_So I still don't know how she's going to defeat me. What was the point of killing that stupid girl if you didn't get the whole message?_

"She's not stupid. And I didn't kill her," I choked. "You did." I closed my eyes, but was forced to open them again. All I could see were her eyes, before I had dug them out. She had kissed my forehead, whispering a soft melody to me. "It's okay," she said. "I know you have to. I want you to be safe. Just do it. Do it, my darling boy."

I had refused. Amelia was my best friend. When I was orphaned and cursed and came to find my princess and beg her to release me, Amelia had found me, helping to heal my broken heart. I loved her. Then the gypsies had their way with me, and unleashed the unspeakable.

"You're a bastard, you know that?"

I felt a horrible pain in my chest, blinding me before it released me.

_Aww, poor lover boy. You just don't want to take any responsibility, do you? I wasn't the one who killed her. I butchered her up a bit, but you were the one who gave the death blow._

"I-" I coughed and felt a raw, metallic taste mix with my saliva. "You. Tricked. Me."

_No, I got you mad. Is it my fault that you're as much of a monster as I am? Well… maybe… But you and I both know it was your rage that killed her. You were blind with it._

"I thought I was looking at you."

_I felt your joy when you did those horrible things to her. Tell me, do you remember how she screamed? Do you remember how she begged us both to stop-_

I moaned. "Stop it. Stop it, please. Just leave me alone."

_Yes. You remember how she begged you._

"Just kill me. I don't care. You took everything from me. I can't kill for you anymore."

_We're just getting started, Amethyst._

I blanked out.

I knew that He was walking as me, but I was unable to stop Him. I just lay in my blackness, aware but unable to open my eyes and see what He was doing. I couldn't feel. It was like the moment you woke up from a dream, or in my case a nightmare, and you just kept your eyes closed, feeling nothing but knowing what you were.

Amelia…

I remembered the day before. She was sitting in my arms, humming a lullaby and watching the sun come down.

"Thyst," she suddenly said.

I stroked her hair, for once happy that He wasn't interrupting me.

"Yes, my love?"

"Mmm," she purred, "I love it when you call me that... Thyst, I met her today."

I stiffened, but continued to run my fingers through her long locks. She was glowing from the sun, and she smelled like fresh berries.

"Was she okay?"

"She's going to be. I told her not to find out about her past."

"Amelia!" I grabbed her shoulders and turned her to look at me. She didn't meet my eyes. "How could you do this! Do you know what you've done?"

"I thought it would help! If she can't remember who she is, then He won't find her! She's a human now-"

"No," I mumbled.

"What?"

"She's not. He smells her all the time now. Whatever they did, it didn't work."

She pulled away from me. "Thyst! Why didn't you tell me, I could have-"

"I want to keep you out of this, Amelia." She looked crushed. I pulled her close to me, breathing her in. "You deserve a long life. You're my soul, Amelia, and as long as you're alive, he can't get to me. Keep my soul safe, love, and you'll be doing the world a favor."

"I can't, Thyst."

Stricken, I looked down at her. "What?

"This is my last night, Thyst. He's coming for me tomorrow."

"No, no He's not!" I shook my head, holding her face between my hands. "He's not! I swear, He hasn't even mentioned it!"

"He won't win, though, Thyst."

"No, and He won't get you either. You're okay, we're okay." I pulled her to me and brushed my lips against hers. She relaxed against me and I deepened the kiss. "You're alright, love, you're safe. He won't kill you."

"You can't do anything about it, Thyst."

"A blood oath!"

She shook her head. "No, it won't help."

"Yes, it will." I took out the small knife I had used a few hours before to clean the skins off the apples, and cut my palm. She took the knife from me and cut her own. I grabbed her hand. "I promise, Amelia, that He will die, and I will die, and the whole world will die before He kills you."

She nodded, but she was crying. I pulled her to me. "He won't hurt you, He won't. You're safe. The oath will keep Him off."

I rocked her back and forth until she fell asleep in my arms.

I cursed myself now. He didn't touch her. The filthy scum had played the loophole.

I was hallow. I didn't know what else to do. I wanted to release this grief, but I had already wept for hours and it still tugged at my chest. All I could see was her. This blackness made the nightmare more vivid. There was no way to release my grief. I knew it would not pass. Bloodhounds mated for life. She was my mate. I wanted her back.

I wanted to give myself over to Him. I was done suffering. She was the only thing that had kept me going. Today, in the Mouse Hole, I almost had.

I smiled inwardly. She had called her cottage her Mouse Hole. At first I thought it was silly, but the name grew on me. It was home. She was my home. Her quirkiness and her pies and her Mouse Hole house were my home.

I knew why I wasn't gone.

When I realized she was dead, that I had killed her, I did disappear. She took my soul with her and all I could do was curl into myself. But He kept taunting me. The things He said about her made me furious.

I wanted vengeance.

I will join her. I know I will. By my blood, though, she will be avenged.

But first, I had to undo what she did. My Princess has to know what she is. When I met her today, I could feel her Hound begging to release. She was meant to have known a long time ago.

He didn't know. No one did, but I had one more chance and I prayed it worked.

Nephrite?

Silence. I cursed. The vile should have worked by now.

Nephrite?

_What? Who is this?_ An irritated voice barked in the blackness. It had worked!

Nephrite, it's Thyst.

_And I should know who you are, because?_

Don't get smart with me. You know Amelia?

_Sure. She's dead, man._

I know. Are you alone?

_Yes. I'm going out in a few minutes. _

I know who killed Amelia.

I could feel his shock resonating in the emptiness.

_Who? Who did it?_

I did… Listen! I didn't mean to.

I told him about my situation, and he stayed quiet through the whole explanation. However, I could feel his anger.

_You met Serenity? Why hasn't she mentioned it?_

Fuck, man, I don't know! Will you tell her?

_Language, boy. Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?_

I don't kiss corpses. This is serious, the potion is wearing off and He'll return any minute. Tell Serenity everything. Please. She needs to know. Amelia was trying to stop something that she had no right in stopping.

_Fine. Why me?_

Rumor has it you were the best at going behind Endymion's back when he went all psycho. She'll remember that. She'll know what Endymion's done to her. He's her best bet. Get her to trust him. If you can make her remember, she'll trust you. Serenity is going to need all the help she can get. Oh, and Nephrite?

_What?_

Thanks.

_You're an annoying brat, Thyst. Good luck. I'm rooting for you._

The connection faded, and I felt drained. Then I cursed.

I had forgotten to tell Nephrite the first part of the message.

**TBC**

**_A/N: _**_No, it's not going to be a Thyst POVed story forever. Just this chapter... unless I decide to have ideas. XD So, please review!_**_  
_**


	12. Mate

**A/N: **_It took a while but I'm still writing! Hope you enjoy!  
_

**Disclaimer: **_All rights are reserved to Naoko. I do not own Sailor Moon, but the story is all my creation._

**Summery: **_She came once, sucked under the spell of Endymion's eyes. She left, forgetting everything. Now she's back, learning it all over again... but this time, she's running for her life from the beginning._**  
**

* * *

**_Elf Dawned Book 2: By Chance..._**

_**Chapter 11**_**_:_**

We had returned to the castle and I was brushing out my hair, when I heard a knock on my door. I grabbed a blanket and wrapped myself in it, feeling a little too open in the nightgown. I expected to open the door and see Endymion, but it was Nephrite.

He grabbed my arm, "Serenity, please, I need to talk to you."

I furred my brow and looked at Endymion's closed door. "Should I get Endymion?"

He quickly shook his head. "This has more to do with you than it does with him. But you have to trust me. May I come in?"

I opened my mouth, feeling a little suspicious, about to say no, but the word stuck in my throat. Instead, what came out was a reluctant "yes."

He pushed past me and sat cross-legged on the floor, gesturing for me to join him. I closed the door and bent to sit across from him, wrapping myself tighter in my blanket than before.

"What's this about?" I asked.

"Serenity, Amelia made a mistake."

I frowned. "About what?"

"About telling you to not look into your past. She was trying to protect you."

"No, no she had a vision. She told me I would fail-"

"You don't believe that. I know you don't. I can help you see." He looked at me, looked through me, and I was drawn back to this morning when I chopped off my hair and promised myself to know the truth, to get back the power I'd lost. And then later today, when I had decided to talk to Nephrite. I knew that I've been seeing more and more visions. Now here was a man who said he knew how to help me. Frankly, I was tired of the visions and of people telling me to trust them because I had once before. I was tired of taking people's word for things and working around other people hinting of The Big Bad when I didn't even remember it happening.

"You'll help me remember?" I asked.

He nodded. "It'll only take a few seconds. You want to remember. You already see your stars; you just don't know how to read them."

I nodded. "Will it hurt?"

He smiled, in amusement. "No, Serenity. We've done something like this before. You just have to trust me." He held out his hand, looking me in the eye. "Do you trust me?"

In response, I gave him my hand, and then I felt my world slip out from under me. I felt like I was falling, the blackness swallowing me up. It was getting hard to breathe and I felt myself panicking.

"Serenity, relax."

It was Nephrite's voice. Vaguely, I felt my hand being squeezed, and that pulled me towards a sort of ground in the darkness. It was calm for a few seconds, giving me time to catch my breath, but then images and sounds and laughter and tears were all rushing past in one blur. Vaguely I could make out some images. Dancing and failing to do anything right, feeling upset with my Aunt and upset with the world in general for taking my parents away from me. The growth, and walking in.

I saw Elf City, but it was different. It was beautiful and friendly and safe, a dream that awoke me from my nightmare. Then Endymion, and next to him, Beryl.

I looked into her emerald eyes and felt myself slipping again. The pictures changed, and I was lying on the floor with her standing over me, laughing with Endymion on her side, feeling the confusion fading away and seeing both of them laughing. Then, worms, small, all around me, growing taller than I've ever seen, crashing down and bringing the world up until all I could see was black. The blackness surrounded me, and the soundlessness and emptiness was like a constant shriek, only more unpleasant. Then there were two red dots that became brighter and swallowed up the emptiness and turned into fire that swallowed me up until I couldn't feel anything. Then the red faded into blue and I saw his eyes.

I gasped and opened my own eyes, finding myself lying on the floor, out of breath. Nephrite was still holding my hand, but someone else was brushing my hair out of my face. I looked up and saw Andrew.

He looked up at Nephrite. "Is she alright?"

Nephrite nodded. "Just let her relax. It'll click, she just needs some time."

"How much time?"

He glared at Andrew. "As much time as it takes."

Then they were both quiet, but I wasn't thinking about anything in general. I realized that I should probably be trying to put the pieces together, but all I focus on was how nice of a color my walls were and how much I hadn't realized I'd missed Andrew.

The made up memories were clashing with the real ones. I knew which one to believe, but the one that told me it was all dream screamed dominance.

I looked at my door. Endymion was right next door, sleeping, not realizing what was going on.

Endymion.

I've been hurt and I've been fooled. The part of me that thought of all those things he's done to me and all those things he's let Beryl do made me sick. But the other part, the part that remembered his softness, his kiss, his closeness and rationalized that he was under her spell fought back just as hard. And I knew what happened before my world collapsed in on itself. It was he who fought his way to me, and grabbed my hand. It was his eyes I looked into for strength that he gave willingly. In his thoughts, I remembered the love. But I also saw the fear and I remembered my own fear. Every bit of me hurt to remember the abuse I hadn't minded because I knew it wasn't him. Now there were two faces. A monster and a friend, one that made me feel cold and the other warm and loved.

I looked at my wall again. He was trying. He's suffering. He hates himself for what he's done.

I reached up and touched Andrew's hand with my free one. He clasped it hard, as if he was afraid to let go, and all I could do was let the tears fall as he and Nephrite just held me down, not letting me get too far into myself.

It was morning when I woke up in my bed, hearing the tap on my door. Nephrite and Andrew were both gone and despite sleeping for over nine hours, I felt exhausted.

There was another tap on my door, before the handle turned and Endymion peeked in. "Hey," he whispered when he saw I was awake.

"Hi." My own whisper was coarse, as if I hadn't spoken in a long time.

He looked unsure. "Can I come in?"

I hesitated, imagining him strangling me and laughing. "Yes."

He walked in and closed the door behind him, but stayed close to it, as if he wanted to flee. "Andrew told me what happened."

"Oh." I dug my fingers in the bed, not able to look at him anymore, so I turned my head to the ceiling.

"Serenity, please. I'm sorry. I didn't want to-"

"Stop," I mumbled.

"But-"

"Please stop." I looked back at him. He looked like I'd slapped him, defeated. I held out my hand to him, wanting to take away the pain. He was looking at my hand as if it were a foreign object, never seen before. Then, slowly, he made his way to me and entwined our fingers, sending my heart galloping and my blood warming. I scooted over and pulled him into bed with me. He sat on it, rubbing my fingers with his own, not making eye contact.

"Endymion."

He looked up, guarded. His fingers froze, as if he was expecting to be yelled at or tossed around. He's scared, I realized. He's imagined this moment so many times, and now that it was here, all the horrible things he's thought of were playing through his mind.

I sat up and slowly touched his face with my free hand. He flinched, and I ran my hand down to his jaw, then back up and behind his ear, which turned down into my palm.

"Serenity-"

"Shh." I leaned in and touched my forehead to his. "It's alright. It wasn't you."

I was swimming inside the blue of his eyes, so familiar, yet guarded from disbelief. Slowly, I leaned my head and captured his lips with mine, just tasting them once. I waited, our lips separated by half a centimeter of space. Then he finally leaned forward and kissed me back, igniting a fire inside me I had forgotten could exist. I loved the nearness of him, the gentleness. This was the Endymion I had lost, this was the fire I had missed. It was delicious and addicting and I could feel myself letting go of the mistrust as I felt his arms wrap around me, holding me up to make sure I wouldn't fall, bringing me flush against him in such a way I ceased to remember my own name. I remember I had read about the forbidden fruit, how it tasted so much sweeter and more addictive, a little wrong and a little mischievous. He was my forbidden fruit. I had been denying myself this for so long, it had been like a part of me was missing. I couldn't imagine what it would be like if he had gone.

His mouth left my lips and ran a trail of kisses down my cheek and to my ear, where he bit the soft spot that sent tingles down my spine. Then he exhaled. "Did you know that Blood Hounds have a special place in their hearts that's dedicated to a second half of them? When they find it, they go crazy trying to get closer to it. There's nothing else in this world that matters as long as that second half is near."

I breathed his scent in, memorizing it and trying not to lose myself to this sweet desire. "Are you my second half?"

He laughed quietly, trailing another set of kisses along my jawline. I could feel myself going crazy, needing more but too afraid of it. "Elves are so much different from Blood Hounds. Their heart is born empty, and is filled by laughter and love of others. But once they find their mate, they are all they can think about. It doesn't happen often. A mate is as sacred as a whisper in the universe. They would do anything in the world to make them happy and keep them safe, and all they'd want is to be with them forever. When an elf loses their mate, they are lost. The world is black and they shake for days. And when they stop shaking, they can still feel the rattle in their bones, and the coldness in their hearts. Serenity, I lost you, and then I lost myself. You are my mate."

I could barely think about anything but his words. "What about now?"

"Hmm?" he asked. He brought his face up and rubbed his nose against mine. Then he opened his eyes and stared into mine, and I saw a fire inside them that sent shivers and goose bumps throughout my body.

"Are you lost?"

His lips found their way to mine and he brought us both down into a lying position, pulling me closer to him and enveloping me in his body. "No. Are you?"

"No."

He played with my hair, curling it between his fingers and tugging at it gently. "I don't remember who told me about mates or when I started to resent the idea, but I had thought that having a mate would be the worst possible thing that could happen. To put that much of yourself into one person and expect nothing from them was awful. What if they didn't feel the same way? You'd be left following them around for the rest of your life, yearning for a closeness you can never have."

His words sent chills down my spine.

"I expect nothing from you, and I don't know what will happen tomorrow. I just want to hold you here with me forever, and hope that this moment never ends. You have no idea how long I've waited for you."

I ran my fingers through his hair, watching his face. Somehow, without realizing it, I had forgiven him and forgotten about everything he's done. I've put my trust back into him. He's been helping me from the beginning and all I've been doing is denying myself of what I really wanted.

I sat up fast, looking at him quickly. "Oh my God."

"What?" he asked, sitting up and grabbing at my arms, as if he were holding me down from fleeing.

"The footage was wrong. The camera? I hadn't gone straight from your room to your secret room. I'd first had breakfast with the girls. The footage has been changed."

He furred his eyebrows, as though trying to figure out my train of thought.

"We knew the footage has been messed with, but the guy who did this made a mistake. Listen, I met Thyst. He was at Amelia's house looking for the slip of paper I found. He kept saying how someone was there and watching and he looked exactly like the guy I saw with the tattoos, only without the tattoos."

"You what?!" He looked at me, mad. "You went alone? Are you insane? You could have been killed!"

I took out the slip of paper. "I meant to tell you yesterday, but you insisted on going out."

He quickly read it. "What did Thyst say? '_–up your blood'_? What is that supposed to mean?"

I shrugged. He quickly got up and stalked to the door, then paused and looked back at me. "Don't. Move. Don't leave this room. I'll be right back. Do you have your necklace?"

I nodded.

With that, he opened the door and stalked out.

**TBC**

**A/N: **_REVIEW please! thanks! :)_**  
**


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